President Barack Obama celebrated his 50th birthday at the
White House on Thursday with a Rose Garden party and a toast from his senior staff.
He also celebrated with a party on Wednesday night, but in his hometown of Chicago.
The president told supporters at the Aragon Entertainment Center there that the nation doesn't have time to "play these partisan games." "I hope we can avoid another self-inflicted wound like we saw over the last couple weeks," Obama said of the recent debt-ceiling gridlock.
Obama's visit to Chicago symbolized presidentially and politically a need to turn the corner following weeks of bruising debate over raising the nation's debt ceiling and cutting its deficit.
It wasn't until Tuesday, the deadline for the nation's borrowing ability to expire, that he was able to finally sign a deal into law. By then, the president's job approval ratings had tumbled and he faced criticism that Democrats had compromised too greatly by accepting Republican demands for spending cuts without getting new revenues in return.
The toll of that fight on Obama's presidency, particularly in light of his 2008 election mantra of change in Washington, gave a special emphasis to what has become a standard in his early re-election campaign — a request for patience.
"It's been a long, tough year. But we have made some incredible strides together. Yes, we have. But the thing we all have to remember is, as much good as we've done, precisely because the challenges were so daunting, precisely because we were inheriting so many challenges, that we're not even halfway there yet," he said.
"Now, when I said, 'Change we can believe in,' I didn't say, 'Change we can believe in tomorrow.' Not, 'Change we can believe in next week,'" he said. "We knew this was going to take time because we've got this big, messy, tough democracy."
Returning to Chicago Wednesday for the first time since April, Obama stepped off Air Force One at O'Hare International Airport and shared a hug with Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the president's former chief of staff. Then it was off to two fundraisers on the North Side.
Obama arrived at a dimly lit and humid concert hall as Herbie Hancock performed. Some of the estimated 2,400 people in attendance, who paid at least $50, wore cone-shaped birthday hats with the number 50 and the campaign's logo. Obama capped the evening with a dinner of 100 donors who paid $35,800 apiece and got a slice of a two-layer birthday cake from Eli's, one layer chocolate, the other carrot.
Before that, Obama talked via teleconference to more than 1,100 "house parties" organized by his re-election campaign. The parties served as both places to celebrate Obama's birthday and to conduct strategic re-election organizing.
An administration official said the Obamas will pay for the president's birthday party at the White House. The Obama family will cap its birthday celebrations with a weekend trip to Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland.
Obama was born Aug. 4, 1961, near the end of the baby boom years of 1946-64. He's the third U.S. president who belongs to the baby boom generation, a population of more than 76 million. Bill Clinton was the first, followed by George W. Bush.
He also celebrated with a party on Wednesday night, but in his hometown of Chicago.
The president told supporters at the Aragon Entertainment Center there that the nation doesn't have time to "play these partisan games." "I hope we can avoid another self-inflicted wound like we saw over the last couple weeks," Obama said of the recent debt-ceiling gridlock.
Obama's visit to Chicago symbolized presidentially and politically a need to turn the corner following weeks of bruising debate over raising the nation's debt ceiling and cutting its deficit.
It wasn't until Tuesday, the deadline for the nation's borrowing ability to expire, that he was able to finally sign a deal into law. By then, the president's job approval ratings had tumbled and he faced criticism that Democrats had compromised too greatly by accepting Republican demands for spending cuts without getting new revenues in return.
The toll of that fight on Obama's presidency, particularly in light of his 2008 election mantra of change in Washington, gave a special emphasis to what has become a standard in his early re-election campaign — a request for patience.
"It's been a long, tough year. But we have made some incredible strides together. Yes, we have. But the thing we all have to remember is, as much good as we've done, precisely because the challenges were so daunting, precisely because we were inheriting so many challenges, that we're not even halfway there yet," he said.
"Now, when I said, 'Change we can believe in,' I didn't say, 'Change we can believe in tomorrow.' Not, 'Change we can believe in next week,'" he said. "We knew this was going to take time because we've got this big, messy, tough democracy."
Returning to Chicago Wednesday for the first time since April, Obama stepped off Air Force One at O'Hare International Airport and shared a hug with Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the president's former chief of staff. Then it was off to two fundraisers on the North Side.
Obama arrived at a dimly lit and humid concert hall as Herbie Hancock performed. Some of the estimated 2,400 people in attendance, who paid at least $50, wore cone-shaped birthday hats with the number 50 and the campaign's logo. Obama capped the evening with a dinner of 100 donors who paid $35,800 apiece and got a slice of a two-layer birthday cake from Eli's, one layer chocolate, the other carrot.
Before that, Obama talked via teleconference to more than 1,100 "house parties" organized by his re-election campaign. The parties served as both places to celebrate Obama's birthday and to conduct strategic re-election organizing.
An administration official said the Obamas will pay for the president's birthday party at the White House. The Obama family will cap its birthday celebrations with a weekend trip to Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland.
Obama was born Aug. 4, 1961, near the end of the baby boom years of 1946-64. He's the third U.S. president who belongs to the baby boom generation, a population of more than 76 million. Bill Clinton was the first, followed by George W. Bush.
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