OKLAHOMA CITY – President Barack Obama arrived in the Sooner State Wednesday night. Air Force One was “wheels down” at Tinker Air Force Base at about 9:25 p.m. Greeted by Mayor Mick Cornett, the president gave no remarks after getting off the aircraft.

Also greeting Obama were Midwest City Mayor Jack Fry, two ranking officers from the Base, and an Air Force noncommissioned officer. 

The president cheerfully greeted Airmen and selected dignitaries who had waited patiently on the runway next to a hanger at the repair depot and maintenance facility, one of the most significant installations in the Air Force. He did not answer questions from reporters at end of his long day. He jogged briefly as he moved toward the cheering group. 

The president had already visited Nevada and New Mexico as pat of his “all-of-the-above” energy tour, touting his support for solar and wind power, statistics showing booming oil production and what analysts say may be a new push to use natural gas more effectively.

While the president has many conservative Republican critics, Mayor Cornett told CapitolBeatOK he and other energy advocates are glad the Democratic chief executive has come to visit this city and state, with one of the nation’s lowest unemployment rates and a vibrant oil sector. 

In Cushing, where the president is speaking Thursday morning, pro-energy activists with Americans for Prosperity planned to rally today in support of the Keystone XL pipeline’s construction, which the president halted earlier this year. Obama’s administration subsequently agreed to let a pipeline project advance from the Cushing storage facility to the Gulf coast, and said TransCanada and other advocates can apply for a new route to Canada.