“Disapproval of President Obama’s handling of the economy is heading higher — alongside gasoline prices — as a record number of Americans now give the president ‘strongly’ negative reviews on the 2012 presidential campaign’s most important issue,” the Washington Post writes of its new WaPo/ABC poll.
The New York Times: “President Obama’s re-election campaign is beginning an intensified effort this week to build support among women, using the debate over the new health care law to amplify an appeal that already appears to be benefiting from partisan clashes over birth control and abortion. On Monday, mailings will go out to one million women in more than a dozen battleground states in three separate versions for mothers, young women and older women, campaign and party officials said. An effort called ‘Nurses for Obama’ will begin on Wednesday, with nurses nationwide enlisted to be advocates for the health care law in their communities. And a new Web site will include links to video testimonials about the health care overhaul signed by Mr. Obama in 2010, including from a former critic who subsequently was found to have breast cancer.”
The president does a round of local affiliate interviews from the White House. And as gas prices rise, “The White House says Obama will speak about his blueprint ‘for a secure energy future.’” His interviews will be with anchors from “Los Angeles, Denver, Austin, Des Moines, Orlando, Fla., Cincinnati, Las Vegas and Pittsburgh.”
“Senator John Kerry and his wife Teresa Heinz Kerry will host a fundraiser for President Obama’s re-election campaign Monday evening at their Georgetown home, according to an Obama campaign official,” the Boston Globe reports. At $10,000 a couple, “Vice President Joe Biden will headline the dinner, which is expected to draw about 75 guests.” And here’s this stat: “During the 2008 presidential campaign, Kerry stumped for Obama in 33 states and helped raise $875,465 through events he headlined or by emailing donors, according to Kerry’s staff. So far in the 2012 cycle, Kerry has helped raise $410,000 for the president’s re-election.”
Giants Wide Receiver Victor Cruz will co-host a fundraiser for Obama March 19 with First Lady Michelle Obama in New York. It’s a “Family Game Night” theme at Chelsea Piers, where participants can go bowling. “Tickets start at $150 per person — then go to $250 per bowling guest, a price that includes bowling shoes. Tickets go for $5,000 per VIP guest, which includes a photo reception and shoes for up to five,” the New York Post reports, adding, “After the bowling party, the first lady will attend a $5,000-a-plate fund-raiser with Robert De Niro and his wife, Grace Hightower, at the Italian restaurant Locanda Verde in TriBeCa.”
