Obama spoke at the Biscayne Bay home of former Miami Heat star Alonzo Mourning, who was at the event along with Miami Heat players Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh and former L.A. Lakers and NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson.
Obama told donors that the economy is begining to recover because lawmakers were willing to take tough votes. But Republicans, he said, ``said no each and every time...they don't have new ideas.
``We've got to tell them in this election you can't have the keys back,'' he said of Republicans. ``You don't know how to drive!''
The event was to pull in $1 million for congressional Democrats and Rep. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, whom Obama apologized for calling Ron Klain, vice president Joe Biden's chief of staff.
He gave two speeches open to the press; Klein did not appear next to him at either.
Obama boosted another campaign before leaving Washington, recording a radio ad for the lagging U.S. Senate campaign of Kendrick Meek. Obama urges supporters to vote for Meek, noting ``If we work together, he will win.''
Meek greeted Obama at the airport, along with Reps. Ted Deutch, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, congressional hopeful Joe Garcia and Democratic Attorney General candidate Dan Gelber.
Obama's visit comes a week before early voting starts Oct. 18 and marks his third fundraising trip to Miami this year as he looks to protect Democratic majorities in the House and Senate.
Republicans hope to pick up 39 Democratic seats to overtake the House and have set their sights on Klein's Broward/Palm Beach swing seat. In 2006, Klein ousted longtime Republican E. Clay Shaw amid voter anger about President George W. Bush and the Iraq war.
Now the political mood has shifted and Allen West, a black Republican with a $4 million warchest, has tapped into anger about the economy and Obama's sagging popularity ratings. In the 22nd congressional district, voter registration has slightly tipped to the left, though it's pretty even among Democrats and Republicans.
Republicans panned Obama's visit before he arrived, with Sen. George LeMieux telling reporters on a conference call that the president should visit with out-of-work families in Miami. He accused the administration's ``job killing agenda'' of ``doing more to hurt the economy than any other factor in the past 18 months.''
A group of about 20 activists pushing for a quicker end to the military's ``Don't Ask, Don't Tell,'' policy sought to pressure Obama, standing at stations near the gates of Mourning's house. Others launched three boats with signs saying, ``Stop the Discharges'' and ``We'll Give When We Get Equal'' to protest at Mourning's Biscayne Bay house.
The pool report said the ``Don't Ask, Don't Tell'' protestors could be heard, but the noise isn't loud enough to disrupt.
Though West has surpassed Klein in fundraising for this election cycle, Klein is ahead by about $500,000 in cash on hand due to money he carried over from a previous race. Klein easily beat West in 2008 when West wasn't well known and had little money.
West sent an e-mail Monday blasting Klein for holding a fundraiser with Obama. He contrasted the fundraiser, in which tickets cost up to $17,600, to the $5 breakfast West said he shared with House Republican leader Rep. John Boehner at the Gun Club Cafe in West Palm Beach. ``You know your opponent is in trouble when they call in one of the most unpopular people in the United States for help,'' West said in a statement.
Klein has tried to portray himself as a moderate. He announced Monday morning that a few Republican city officials had endorsed him, including Lighthouse Point City Commissioner Sandy Johnson, Palm Beach Mayor Jack McDonald, and City of Riviera Beach Council Chair Dawn Pardo. And Klein has repeatedly talked about his clashes with the Obama administration about Israel.
But Klein has little to lose by schmoozing with the President -- West and his supporters have repeatedly linked Klein to the president and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi even before Obama's visit was announced. Billboards within the district paid for by the We Love USA Pac show Klein dangling from puppet strings being directed by Pelosi.
Guests were asked to pay at least $1,000 and up to $17,600 for a photo and VIP dinner with Obama. The DCCC said about 100 people were expected at the reception; 120 for dinner.
Herald staff writer Robert Samuels contributed to this report.
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