SAN JOSE: President Barack Obama on Monday pressed on with a campaign to sell his jobs plan in the four corners of America, after warning a Republican win in 2012 elections could "cripple" the country.
Obama was to appear in a town-hall style meeting sponsored by executive social network LinkedIn in San Jose, before tapping donors in Democratic strongholds in San Diego and Los Angeles . Faced with a recalcitrant Congress and Republicans who accuse him of waging class warfare over his call to raise taxes on millionaires and billionaires, Obama told supporters on Sunday to brace for a "tough" reelection campaign.
"This is going to be especially hard because a lot of people are discouraged and a lot of people are disillusioned ," Obama said at a fundraising event in Seattle, Washington. "I'm determined because there's too much at stake. "The alternative I think is an approach to government that would fundamentally cripple America in meeting the challenges of the 21st century."
Later, in San Jose, the president portrayed Republican presidential candidates as extreme and suggested their conservative audiences were not reflective of mainstream America. "Has anyone been watching the debates lately?" he asked.
Pop diva Lady Gaga, wearing towering high heels and with her blonde hair in an up do was among the guests at the $38,500 per couple Obama fundraiser.
The star sat in the middle of tent outside the house hosting the event, but was never acknowledged by the president. No photographers were allowed in the event, which was open only to a print press pool.
