'No I can't': Obama admits 'change may not be as possible as we thought' as he asks donors for more time
- Occupy Wall Street protestors turn on the President as he schmoozes corporate donors in the Big Apple
- Whirlwind trip saw Obama attend three fundraisers
- Protesters marched to midtown hotel, where supporters had each paid $1,000 to hear Obama speak
- Fundraiser at the Greenwich Village restaurant cost donors $35,800 each
- Reports President raised $2.4million on Wednesday
Beleaguered Barack Obama asked voters last night to keep believing in the 'hope and change' he promised in 2008, saying he needed more time to turn America around.
But in an admission that will alarm those who helped him sweep to power three years ago, the President admitted it was 'tempting to believe that change may not be as possible as we thought.'
His plea came as Occupy Wall Street protesters began to turn on him, with dozens of demonstrators calling for a stop to re-election politics and economic inequality.
At a series of fundraisers in New York, where he raised a reported $2.4million for his campaign and those of other Democrats, Mr Obama acknowledged frustration over the stalemate in Washington which has soured views of his leadership.
'It has been three wrenching years for this country,' said Mr Obama, who said he needed another term to fully address the economy, the environment and other issues.
'Every single thing that we care about is at stake in this next election,' the President said. 'It’s going to take more than a few years to meet the challenges that have been decades in the making.'
While protests against him raged, Mr Obama sat inside the Sheraton hotel, hosting one of several fundraising dinners that ranged from $1,000 to nearly $36,000-a-plate.
The demonstrators, who were evicted from their Lower Manhattan encampment at Zuccotti Park on November 15, were surrounded by police trying to keep them off the road as they played drums and held up signs near the building on Seventh Avenue and 53rd Street.
The President landed in New York at 5.14 yesterday afternoon, snarling traffic around Manhattan for a three-stop fundraising effort that aggravated commuters.
Mr Obama attended three fundraisers in the city: one at the home of businessman Jack Rosen, chairman of the American Jewish Congress, where tickets went for at least $10,000; one at the Greenwich Village restaurant Gotham Bar and Grill at $35,800 per ticket; and a reception at the Sheraton Hotel, where tickets began at $1,000.
Fundraising tour: Mr Obama speaks during a campaign event at the Sheraton, where tickets cost $1,000
Something to smile about? Mr Obama greets and is photographed with members of the audience after speaking at the Sheraton
New York One reports the President raised $2.4million on Wednesday night.
The money will be split between the Democratic National Committee and the Obama re-election campaign.
Mr Obama, escorted by a motorcade of police vehicles, was expected to appear at the Sheraton hotel at 9pm.
And while streets were gridlocked through Manhattan for the President's visit, the 45-minute march from Bryant Park added to the chaos near Rockefeller Plaza as tens of thousands of pedestrians flocked to the midtown area to watch the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony.
Shortly before Mr Obama's arrival, protesters were penned in an enclosure of barricades, informed that the area had been designated a 'frozen zone' until the President’s departure.
Mr Obama took to the road with a dual pitch for money, campaigning for more cash in the pockets of U.S. workers - and for his campaign treasury as well.
Opposition: Occupy protesters have turned their ire from bankers to President Obama
He had earlier pressed his case at a campaign-style rally in working-class Scranton, Pennsylvania where he said Republicans had to choose between lower taxes for the wealthy, or a payroll tax cut that would help working Americans. Republicans say they would support extending the payroll tax cut, but reject new taxes to offset the costs.
Later, in donor-rich New York City where he was raising money for his already flush re-election bid, he took a more conciliatory tone, acknowledging that Republicans such as House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky were also willing to extend the payroll tax, though not with a tax increase on millionaires.
'For the last couple of days Mr Boehner and Mr McConnell have both indicated that it probably does make sense not to have taxes go up for middle class families, particularly since they've all taken an oath not to raise taxes,' Mr Obama told about 50 donors at Gotham Bar and Grill in Greenwich Village. 'And so it's possible we'll see some additional progress in the next couple of weeks that can continue to help strengthen the economy.'
Campaign: The President told supporters at Scranton High School in Pennsylvania that a payroll tax cut would provide relief for workers
Return: Mr Obama, pictured arriving back at the White House, has been criticised by Occupy protesters for his non-stop electioneering
At Mr Rosen's Upper East Side residence, Mr Obama expressed support for Israel, after his host noted 'concern' about U.S.-Israeli relations among some Jewish voters, and he spoke of progress that has been made on restoring the economy.
'Bottom line is this: Over the past three years we've made progress. People aren't feeling all that progress so far because we had fallen so far. But the trajectory of the country at this point is sound,' Mr Obama said.
The President had private time and posed for pictures with groups of Latino supporters and gay and lesbian backers before he addressed the Sheraton fundraiser, the last of the night.
'Every single thing that we care about is at stake in the next election,' he told that crowd. 'The very core of what this country stands for is on the line.'
The populist pitch in Scranton and the fundraisers in New York served as political bookends for the President and illustrated the dual policy and political demands on him as the 2012 campaign season nears.
He first rallied the type of working-class crowd that would benefit from the tax cuts and then appealed for campaign contributions from donors, many of whom would be the ones to shoulder the tax increases Obama supports.
Obama told one group of donors that he still needs to make sure that key aspects of the health care law get implemented in 2014, that banking regulations are enacted and that energy policies are updated.
'I'm going to need another term to finish the job,' he said.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2068453/Occupy-Wall-Street-protesters-turn-Obama-schmoozes-corporate-donors.html#ixzz1fPXeblvp
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