FILE – In this Dec. 10, 2010 file photo, President Barack Obama, accompanied by former President Bill Clinton in the briefing room of the White House in Washington. President Barack Obama is getting a little help from former President Bill Clinton at a trio of campaign fundraisers in New York. The presidential duo will speak at a high-dollar fundraiser at a private home, then headline a gala at the Waldorf Astoria hotel. Obama and Clinton will end the night at an event dubbed “Barack on Broadway” at the New Amsterdam Theatre. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
FILE – In this Dec. 10, 2010 file photo, President Barack Obama, accompanied by former President Bill Clinton in the briefing room of the White House in Washington. President Barack Obama is getting a little help from former President Bill Clinton at a trio of campaign fundraisers in New York. The presidential duo will speak at a high-dollar fundraiser at a private home, then headline a gala at the Waldorf Astoria hotel. Obama and Clinton will end the night at an event dubbed “Barack on Broadway” at the New Amsterdam Theatre. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
FILE – In this Jan. 14, 2011 file photo, President Barack Obama laughs with former President Bill Clinton in Washington. President Barack Obama is getting a little help from former President Bill Clinton at a trio of campaign fundraisers in New York. The presidential duo will speak at a high-dollar fundraiser at a private home, then headline a gala at the Waldorf Astoria hotel. Obama and Clinton will end the night at an event dubbed “Barack on Broadway” at the New Amsterdam Theatre. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
President Barack Obama walks out of Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Monday, June 4, 2012, to the Marine One on the South Lawn, on his way to attend fundraisers in New York City. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Marine One, with President Barack Obama aboard, takes off from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Monday, June 4, 2012, on his way to attend fundraisers in New York City. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
NEW YORK (AP) — Bill Clinton is joining President Barack Obama for a major fundraising push in New York, and the former president is telling donors that electing Mitt Romney would be, in his words, “calamitous for our country and the world.”
Obama and Clinton are sharing top billing at a trio of events in New York City, bringing in at least $3.6 million to Obama’s re-election campaign.
Obama says the economy will be the central issue of the campaign. The president says the economy has been difficult for so many voters, reaching that point that, in his words, “you’re willing to try just about anything, even if you’ve seen it before.”
Obama is taking advantage of Clinton’s fundraising prowess despite their history of testy relations stemming from the 2008 Democratic primary.
Associated Press
