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President Obama has had friendly receptions in Portsmouth, N.H. before, but expects a more critical crowd at a Town Hall meeting on health care on Tuesday.
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Washington - President Obama expects a confrontation Tuesday with anti-health reform protesters at a New Hampshire town hall - and he's ready for it.
"There's actually a pretty long tradition of people shouting at politicians in America," Obama spokesman Bill Burton said.
"Now, if you just want to come to a town hall so that you can disrupt and ... scream over another person, he doesn't think that that's productive," added Burton.
Several health-centric town hall events hosted by members of the House and Senate in recent days have devolved into shouting fests. One White House official predicted "it will happen" to Obama, too, during his forum in Portsmouth.
Ultimately, White House aides believe they can turn the tide in their favor by deploying Obama heavily over the summer. "People recognize the system's broken, and while they're frustrated they do want somebody to fix it," the official added. "We feel pretty good about our chances."
Members of the anti-tax-and-spend Tea Party Coalition have publicly vowed to protest outside and inside the event at Portsmouth High School.
"I'm not a shouter, I'm just passionate," said Jack Kimball, 62, a Portsmouth tea partyer who owns a cleaning business. "We're going to be outside the town hall because we're concerned not just about health care anymore - it's about the growth of government."
A Democratic operative believes a backlash is building against the anti-Obama shouters. "To the extent people are aware that protesters are orchestrated to disrupt, it's helpful. Real people are being drowned out by an orchestrated campaign," the official said.
Some three-quarters of the tickets to the event were distributed to members of the public via the White House Web site, making it easy for potential protesters to pick up tickets, an aide explained.
The other 25% went to political cronies and Obama supporters, the aide said.
Secret Service agents and local police will be at the ready to restrain anyone who disrupts the event.
Demonstrators are usually removed and not allowed back in, but some recent town hall protests have become violent, so agitators may find themselves facing charges.
Health reform foes get two more chances to face off with Obama beginning Friday. He will hold town halls in Montana and Colorado during a four-day Western swing.
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