Obama raises cash, insists 60% of promises kept
Source: Agencies |
October 26, 2011, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
UNITED States President Barack Obama racked up cash for his re-election campaign at fundraisers in Nevada and California on Monday, declaring that he had kept 60 percent of the promises he made as a candidate in 2008.
Obama is in the middle of a three-day swing through battleground states in the West, a trip that Republicans have blasted as evidence that he cares more about saving his own job than helping unemployed Americans.
Mixing official White House business with stops to raise funds, Obama - who is far ahead of his rivals in campaign cash - is working to expand the financial advantage he hopes to maintain next year.
As part of his message at one fundraiser, where some 40 donors each paid US$35,800 to attend, Obama listed his accomplishments since entering office in 2009 and said he needed more time to finish what his administration had begun.
"A lot of the things that we promised we'd do, we've done," Obama said, citing healthcare reform and ending the "don't ask, don't tell" policy preventing gay men and women from serving openly in the US military. "I carry around a little checklist, and I think we've got about 60 percent of it done so far. And that's not bad for three years, because I need another five."
Obama, whose small audience included actor Will Smith and former basketball star Magic Johnson, touted an initiative he announced earlier to help struggling homeowners refinance their mortgages. "That could free up billions of dollars for American consumers who can then shop and go to Will's movies, spend money at whatever business Magic has these days, and could help grow the economy overall," he said.
Obama held a second fundraiser in the Los Angeles area at the home of actress Melanie Griffith and actor Antonio Banderas. Tickets for the roughly 200 guests started at US$5,000 a head.
At a Las Vegas fundraiser, nearly 300 people paid between US$1,000 and US$35,800 to hear Obama.
Obama is in the middle of a three-day swing through battleground states in the West, a trip that Republicans have blasted as evidence that he cares more about saving his own job than helping unemployed Americans.
Mixing official White House business with stops to raise funds, Obama - who is far ahead of his rivals in campaign cash - is working to expand the financial advantage he hopes to maintain next year.
As part of his message at one fundraiser, where some 40 donors each paid US$35,800 to attend, Obama listed his accomplishments since entering office in 2009 and said he needed more time to finish what his administration had begun.
"A lot of the things that we promised we'd do, we've done," Obama said, citing healthcare reform and ending the "don't ask, don't tell" policy preventing gay men and women from serving openly in the US military. "I carry around a little checklist, and I think we've got about 60 percent of it done so far. And that's not bad for three years, because I need another five."
Obama, whose small audience included actor Will Smith and former basketball star Magic Johnson, touted an initiative he announced earlier to help struggling homeowners refinance their mortgages. "That could free up billions of dollars for American consumers who can then shop and go to Will's movies, spend money at whatever business Magic has these days, and could help grow the economy overall," he said.
Obama held a second fundraiser in the Los Angeles area at the home of actress Melanie Griffith and actor Antonio Banderas. Tickets for the roughly 200 guests started at US$5,000 a head.
At a Las Vegas fundraiser, nearly 300 people paid between US$1,000 and US$35,800 to hear Obama.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
