Obama tangles with Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer over immigration book PHOENIX - President Obama is used to tangling with Republicans in Congress. On Wednesday, he sparred with one on a tarmac. Arriving in this Southwestern city on the second stop of his post-State of the Union tour, Obama descended the stairs of Air Force One and was greeted by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, who was among the local politicians waiting for him in a customary presidential receiving line. Such moments are photo ops designed to burnish the image of the president and the politicians. This time, it quickly turned into a dust-up in the desert. Brewer attempted to hand Obama a letter, which she later told reporters was an invitation to sit down with her to discuss "Arizona's comeback" and to tour the U.S.-Mexican border with her. "I thought we probably would've talked about the things that were important to him and important to me, helping one another," Brewer said later. Our country is upside down. Arizona was upside down. But we have turned it around. I know again that he loves this country and I love this country. That's when things went sour. Obama and Brewer had what reporters described as an "intense exchange," with the Republican governor pointing her finger at the president and the two appearing to talk over each other. The exchange ended when Obama abruptly walked away while Brewer appeared to be speaking, according to a summary provided by reporters in the media pool that shadows the president on his trips. Asked about the exchange, Brewer told the reporters that Obama was "a little disturbed" about her book, "Scorpions for Breakfast: My Fight Against Special Interests, Liberal Media, and Cynical Politicos to Secure the Border."" The book, which was published two months ago, details her conservative approach to dealing with the state's illegal immigration challenges. A story in the Arizona Republic last fall reported that Brewer cast Obama as "patronizing and condescending." She portrayed the federal government as "out of control" and said that the president lectured her during a June 2010 meeting in the Oval Office, the newspaper reported. "He didn't feel that I had treated him cordially" in the book, Brewer told reporters Wednesday. I said to him that I have all the respect in the world for the office of the president. The book is what the book is. I asked him if he read the book. He said he read the excerpt. A White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a private conversation, said that Obama told Brewer he would be happy to meet with her after receiving her invitation. However, the official added, Obama "did note that after their last meeting, a cordial discussion in the Oval Office, the governor inaccurately described the meeting in her book." In the brief interview, Brewer said she told Obama that she was sorry he felt slighted "but I didn't get my sentence finished." Obama moved on in the receiving line, where he was greeted by Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton and Mesa Mayor Scott Smith. Then the president headed to an Intel factory that manufactures microprocessors. "Anyway, we're glad he's here," a shaken Brewer said. I'll regroup. At Intel, Obama began his remarks by saying how happy he was to have recently seen a native Arizona lawmaker: Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D), who attended the State of the Union speech Tuesday night in Washington.