Obama rallies supporters as 2012 campaign takes off

SAN FRANCISCO: US President Barack Obama has begun rallying supporters for his 2012 presidential campaign, recognizing that some of the soaring promise of 2008 has been grounded by tough political realities.

At two campaign events late Wednesday in California, the first a gathering of wealthy Democratic Party donors at a private residence and the second at a grand hall packed with mostly young supporters, Obama went on the offensive.

"We knew this wouldn't be easy," he said at the second event, referring to the hopes embodied in his victorious 2007-2008 campaign. "Change in the concrete is hard... Sometimes I get frustrated."

He also applauded what he views as his greatest successes, including the auto industry rescue, major health care reform, the adoption of new financial regulations, and the end of a ban on gays serving openly in the military.

At the first event, where donors paid $35,800 each to dine with the president and Stevie Wonder provided the music, Obama took aim at a budget plan advanced by his Republican rivals in the House of Representatives.

They have called for cutting back on social programs while preserving tax cuts on top-earners enacted by Obama's predecessor, George W Bush.

"That's the easy path in some ways. The easiest thing to do is for the rich and powerful to say we've got ours and we don't have to worry about the rest. It doesn't require a lot of imagination," Obama said.

"The easiest way of cutting health care is to stop giving health care to people. But that's not the America I believe in. That's not the America you believe in. That's what 2012 is going to be about.

"We started something in 2008, we haven't finished it yet. And I'm going to need you to finish it."

Obama had earlier called on young voters to "double down" in 2012 during a campaign-style visit to Facebook headquarters in Palo Alto, California, in which he appeared alongside the company's 26-year-old founder Mark Zuckerberg. (AFP)