ALLENTOWN -- Mike Holenda happily knocked on the window of Anderson's Diner and pointed out the sign to photographers outside.

The sign read, "Welcome President Bush. Special Broccoli Omelette."

Inside the restaurant at the corner of Union Boulevard and Ingram Street, a quintessential diner where the coffee is free and the customers are mostly working-class regulars, President Bush's visit was also being laughed about.

"It's just a joke," said Holenda, a white-haired, feisty Allentown resident, about Bush's visit to Dieruff High School located down the street from the diner. Holenda said the president is just looking for attention.

But Holenda and the diner's other occupants could not hide their obvious excitement about the attention their area was receiving. Reporters became celebrities as the diner's employees and customers sat around the bar and voiced their opinions about the visit.

"It's an exciting event," owner Angelo Karaminas said. "It doesn't matter if you're a Democrat or a Republican."

Pat Tocci, a waitress who arranged the sign in front of the diner, bragged to everyone in sight about her accomplishment.

"I think it turned out neat. I thought he'd feel at home," Tocci said, adding that Karaminas would not let her arrange the sign until his lawyer said it was OK.

But people were also unhappy with Bush and they let it be known in their conversations.

Bush should visit the real problem spots in Allentown, like the unemployment office or the factories, Holenda said.

"A lot of people ain't got a buck today -- they ain't got work, they're losing their homes," Holenda said.

Resident Arthur Tansmone echoed Holenda's comments.

"A lot of people are losing their jobs and he's here visiting schools," Tansmone said.

Bush hasn't done a thing but talk, Holenda said.

Despite a microcosm of Allentown's general feelings about the president, residents still made a big deal of his appearance.

People lined the streets from the airport to the high school to watch Bush's limousine go by and see Air Force One land and take off.

Area residents were excited that a president came, said diner customer Tom Briordy of Allentown, but added that Bush's visit was strictly political.

Briordy, who sported a "Brown in '92" pin at the diner, called it ironic that Bush addressed students because he has done such a bad job providing for the country's future.