Obama shifts from grit to glitz in election-year contrast

Obama has shaped his re-election message around appealing to middle-class voters, many of whom continue to struggle to find work and afford their homes years after economic recession hit.
But the Democratic president, like his Republican opponent and candidates before them, is also targeting wealthy supporters to help fill his campaign coffers as he seeks to win a second White House term on November 6.
The contrast was especially sharp for Obama on Thursday. In a speech at a community college in Cleveland, Ohio, he said that Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney would hollow out the middle class with his policies favoring the rich. Hours later, he was holding court in the elegant dining room of Parker’s four-story brownstone in Manhattan’s West Village, where 50 guests including actress Meryl Streep and designer Michael Kors paid $40,000 a plate for dinner.
Then he spoke to a $10,000-per-person fundraiser in a lavish ballroom of the Plaza Hotel featuring singers Mariah Carey and Alicia Keys, telling the well-heeled crowd that he was committed to ensuring economic opportunities for all Americans.
The White House said it was important for the president to connect with high-rolling donors in an election year where competition for fundraising dollars is intense. the New Nation