President Obama makes fundraising sweep through Atlanta

ATLANTA — President Barack Obama came to Atlanta on Friday as part of a one-day fundraising trip.

The president's plane touched down at 5:25 p.m. at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, where he was greeted by Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and U.S. Rep. John Lewis.

This was the president's second stop of the day, after a quick trip to his hometown of Chicago.

While in Atlanta, Obama stopped at a home in the Sherwood Forrest neighborhood. Residents there swarmed his motorcade when he arrived to get a chance to see the commander-in-chief.

Neighbors said Obama greeted a group of Boy Scouts before stopping at the home.

From there, the president went to Tyler Perry Studios, where he spoke in front of a couple thousand people about bringing jobs to the United States.

"The recovery is accelerating. Our economy is getting stronger," Obama said. "We're moving in the right track. What we can't do is go back to the same policies that got us into this mess in the first place."

Obama, however, offered no indication that Georgia is on, or off, his electoral map.

"If you're willing to get back to organizing, if you're willing to get on the phone and email and tweet and knock on doors and do what needs to be done, if you feel the same passion and same energy and determination that I do, and I've felt it more now than I've ever felt it in my life," he said, "then I promise you we will finish what we started."

The event was opened by a performance by Atlantan Cee Lo Green and some remarks from Mayor Kasim Reed.

The president then attended a $35,800-a-plate event at Tyler Perry's Buckhead mansion.

Friday's visit is the first time Obama has visited Georgia in 18 months.

Obama lost Georgia in the 2008 general election by 5 percentage points and is hoping to rally voters for a better showing this fall.

WSBTV