Hero of the working class.

(Washington Times) — President Obama’s three-day trip to the West Coast produced gaffes, strange encounters and wads of campaign cash from the Democrats’ reliable loving bosom of Hollywood.

The president promoted himself as a “warrior” for the middle class on this early campaign swing, but he raised an estimated $7 million by hobnobbing with moguls of the entertainment and high-tech industries. Among the Hollywood VIPs who turned out for Mr. Obama at a $17,900-per-plate dinner late Monday night at the chic Fig & Olive restaurant on Melrose Place in Los Angeles was Dreamworks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, whom the president praised for “helping us consistently move an agenda forward that creates a more just and fair and more competitive America.”

Other celebrities included writer Aaron Sorkin, producer Jon Landau, music artists Quincy Jones and will.i.am, and actors Jamie Foxx, Danny DeVito and Eva Longoria.

Many of the attendees at the series of intimate Left Coast fundraisers were lauding the man who wants to raise their taxes, to pay for another stimulus plan and to reduce deficits. Mr. Obama warned his supporters that the 2012 campaign will be harder “because people are just tired.”

“They’re worn out,” Mr. Obama said of his base. “We’ve been driving through a storm. We had to try to keep this boat afloat through something that we haven’t seen in our lifetimes. And people are weary and hurt. And so the energy of 2008 is going to have to be generated in a different way.”