President Barack Obama left the heated partisan atmosphere in Washington on Wednesday for an overly warm hometown 50th Birthday Party with 2,400 fans and donors in Chicago.
“It doesn’t matter how tough a week I have in Washington, because I know you’ve got me — you’ve got my back,” President Obama told the crowd. “When I come to Chicago, when I travel across the country, I know we can’t be stopped.”
Introducing Obama, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said “This looks like the Uptown Music District,” a reference to one of the mayor’s pet entertainment projects.
With Jennifer Hudson leading the crowd in singing “Happy Birthday” and with a thermometer on the stage reading 92 degrees, Obama joked, “This is a warm welcome right here.”
Hudson’s rendition of the b-day song wasn’t as oozing with sexuality as Marilyn Monroe’s classic performance for President Kennedy, but honestly, that’s probably for the best — President Obama already has enough drama with the debt crisis.
Before he addressed the sweating crowd, the president spoke back-stage by video link-up to a thousand other mini-birthday/organizing parties in 1,000 living rooms around the country, as well as seven other fund-raising events around the country.
Taking a slap at Republicans who refused to agree to any higher taxes on the wealthy as negotiations went right up to deadline in the debt-ceiling negotiations, Obama told the Chicago crowd, “I hope we can avoid another self-inflicted wound like we just saw over the last couple of weeks. Because we don’t have time to play these partisan games. We’ve got too much work to do … It is going to continue to be challenging every step of the way.”
“But we can do it,” a woman shouted from the audience.
“But we can do it,” Obama agreed. “We have made some incredible strides together. Yes we have.”
He then launched his pitch for supporters to begin working on his re-election.
“It starts now,” he said.
A chocolate-and-carrot birthday cake from Eli’s Cheesecake was on the menu for the $35,800-per-plate dinner.
