President Barack Obama has been busy in the past couple of weeks, flying across the country to attend fundraisers and reassure donors, even though he isn't up for re-election. The president is hoping to relieve some of the stress caused by the political backlash from the problem-ridden rollout of Obamacare, which has many congressional Democrats terrified, CNN reports.
The plan is to convince generous donors that Obama's plummeting popularity and the issues with HealthCare.gov do not mean doom for the Democratic Party in 2014.
The president, who has already hosted events in New York, Boston, Miami, Dallas and Philadelphia, is currently on a three-day West Coast trip that will include Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles. This particular trip comes a week ahead of the administration's deadline for getting HealthCare.gov functioning—at least for most users, CNN notes.
While the divided Republican Party still has to deal with its dismal approval ratings resulting from the government shutdown, many in the GOP have seen the health care fallout as ammunition to use against Democrats.
Still, Obama has high hopes for the Democrats' chances of taking the House in 2014 and is putting his boots to the ground to prove it. "The president thinks there's good reason for that—specifically, Democrats have laid out a very clear agenda for what they hope to achieve in the next Congress," Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters aboard Air Force One, according to CNN.
"In an off year—in the year before an election like this—I think the most tangible way that an incumbent president of either party, frankly, can benefit his party's prospects in congressional races is to try to help them raise money," Earnest added, predicting that Obama would continue his fundraising efforts for Democrats next year.
The presidential receptions don't come cheap. CNN reports that the standard prices for tickets range from $16,000 to $32,000. However, one event in San Francisco will go for an easy $500.
Read more at CNN.