You remember how a bunch of South Florida lawyers got together with former law professor President Obama on Miami Beach a few days ago?

Well there was another lawyer there who I forgot to mention, except he was outside demonstrating against the President's visit:

Although the president brought good news to Florida, not every one here welcomed his visit. About 100 people – many of them protestors – assembled outside the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach, where the president spoke at the Tuesday evening fundraiser.

"Obama Sucks," read a sign held by a man on the corner of Collins Avenue.

Jose Llerena, 41, a Miami lawyer, was among the largely Cuban, anti-Obama crowd.

“He is one of the most divisive presidents we've had,” Llerena said. “I want this president to know that we don't like him. He doesn't believe in us. I hope he realizes that the Democratic Party is going to have a significant loss in 2010."

I don't know much about Jose, other than he is a labor lawyer who works for Jorge L. Fors and who once worked at George Hartz in the Gables.

He also has a jamming website.

et al et cetera et cetera et al -- interesting marketing strategy.

Also, according to his public Facebook page, Jose shares this message:

Banded together from remote galaxies are 13 of the most sinister villains of all time: The Legion of Dems. Dedicated to a single objective: the Marxist conquest of the US.Only 1 group dares to challenge this intergalactic threat: The Founding Fathers

I'm going to assume (hope?) this is a tongue-in-cheek Star Wars/BG-type parody.

If so, it still needs a little work, but could be a great comic book.

Also Jose doesn't like czars, wants Fidel to die, and is a big fan of Alex Foley.

Really, though, who isn't?

So you probably heard our President was in town yesterday for a fundraiser on Miami Beach.

Two South Florida lawyers had very different reactions.

Here's one from Kirk Wagar in today's NYT:

“We could have the president here twice a month and we’d have great events,” said Kirk Wagar, a Miami lawyer who served as a finance chairman of Mr. Obama’s campaign in Florida last year. “People are very invested in him.”

Mr. Wagar was among the 450 people who gathered Monday evening to see Mr. Obama in his first visit to Miami since taking office. The back-to-back events for the party’s senatorial and Congressional campaign committees raised $1.5 million, aides said, and provided the president a chance to be energized by a friendly audience.

Among the 450 people who attended was also RRA attorney Mike Pancier, who despite his evidently conservative leanings still met with The Prez.

He had a slightly different reaction:

So you may ask, "Cigar Mike, why are you there and why do you shake his hand?" Simple. I'm there cause I have connections and I will not pass up a photographic opportunity such as being able to photograph the President of the United States. Why do I shake his hand? Well, he's my President, even if I don't agree with him and frankly, I wanted to show the leftist nuts out there that unlike them, we can show respect for the President even if we don't agree with him. Their memories are too short, but we remember how they treated GW Bush. But as they say, tomorrow it will all be history and I'll continue my fight to keep the Dems policies from becoming law by focusing on the real issues out there and not on the ridiculous like those birther folks that were across the street from the hotel.

It was my turn to meet the President and I told him “it is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. President.” I shook his hand, he told me “thank you for all your help,” a photo was taken, and I was on my way as the next person got his turn to take his photo with the President.

SFDB gives his take here.

I'm glad Mike shook the President's hand, and glad he does not support the Birthers.

BTW, I certainly would have shook W's hand, though I doubt I would have my firm help sponsor the event (hey, times are tough!).

UPDATE -- Mike was kind enough to share a few quality pics he took at the event, which I have added above.

That last one Mike -- oy, do libs know how to party!

Remember when noted Radical Black Communist Nelson Mandela came to Miami, and our public officials earned everlasting international scorn by acting like a complete bunch of close-minded, reactionary idiots?

Well we have another noted Radical Black Communist who wants to spread his message all over our kids, so let's dust off the Mandela playbook:

But Miami-Dade schools will not mass broadcast the speech, spokesman John Schuster said. Teachers who wish to show the address will have to live stream it from the White House website. What students who opt out will do during the 15- or 20-minute speech is up to each school.

So it will not be made available at all to any teacher on the public school system television, and instead teachers will have to stream the speech over the web on their classroom computers?

Too bad with budget cuts there are few working computers in the schools, and those that do function are unlikely to be able to stream the speech without significant technical issues.

Let's hear school board member Marta Perez calmly explain her completely reasonable thought process:

``To force students to sit in a classroom where it's easy to get students because they're in school, because it's a captive audience, and to even send out lesson plans -- it's reminiscent of totalitarian governments like Castro.''

Exactly!

And with lesson plans no less -- what is wrong with this man?

I'm sure Ms. Perez would have felt the same way if President Bush (a white non-communist) wished to speak to the students, and she would have made the exact same fair-minded and totally rational comparison to Fidel Castro.

The NYT put it well today:

There is, of course, nothing socialist in any of Mr. Obama’s policies, as anyone with a passing knowledge of socialism and its evil history knows. But in this country, unlike actual socialist countries, nobody can be compelled to listen to the president. What is most disturbing about all this is what it says about the parents — and the fact that they have such little regard for their children’s intelligence and ability to think.

I don't mind the parents so much, they are not policymakers.

But the elected educators?