Obama's challenge in fund-raising effort
- President Obama courted donors in California on a two-day fundraising jaunt.
- Obama kicked off an effort to help his party win back the House and keep its Senate majority next year.
- The appearance capped a four-event blitz where he raised $3.25 million for the House Democrats' campaign committee.
ATHERTON, Calif. - Making a down payment on his vow to go all in for Democrats in 2014, President Obama courted well-heeled donors in California on a two-day fundraising jaunt that required him to walk a fine line: Berate Republicans too much, and he could put fragile prospects for achieving his second-term goals in jeopardy.
Obama's California swing kicked off an effort to help his party win back the House and keep its Senate majority next year.
Obama struck a careful balance Thursday, telling donors at a Silicon Valley luncheon that he would continue to reach out to Republicans to advance the interests of the middle class and those aspiring to join it. "Having said that, though, there are still some really big arguments that we are having in Washington," Obama said. "And I believe that Democrats represent those values."
Obama's appearance at the lunch, where supporters paid $1,000 to attend or $5,000 for a photo with the president, capped a four-event blitz that started Wednesday in San Francisco, where he raised $3.25 million for the House Democrats' campaign committee.
The short-term pitfalls of the campaign effort are clear. Obama has spent much of the last month pursuing warmer relations with Republicans in Congress whose votes he needs to enact his agenda. Republicans on the receiving end of Obama's "charm offensive" - he will dine with GOP senators next week for a second time - say his partisan tone when he leaves Washington makes them question his sincerity when he says he's willing to meet Republicans halfway.
"He's doing a pretty lousy job of it," Reince Priebus, the chairman of the Republican Party, said in an interview. "If he was someone who was as conciliatory as he proclaims to be, you would think he would have a few decent relationships with Republicans, but he doesn't. Instead, he spends most of his time campaigning."
White House officials are mindful of the balancing act Obama must carry out to avoid undermining relations with Republican lawmakers when he hits the campaign trail for Democrats. "The president's appeal to his supporters won't interfere with his continued efforts to work with Republicans to move that agenda through the Congress," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.
Obama sought to drive that point home on Thursday to an intimate gathering of donors who paid $32,400 per person to attend a brunch benefiting the Democratic National Committee. "Our policies, the ones that we presented, traditionally would be considered pretty bipartisan," he said. "There's nothing particularly Democratic about road-building or basic science or environmental protection."
