Obama in NYC: Economy's on the upswing

President Barack Obama assured donors in Manhattan Wednesday night that the economy was on the upswing as he shuttled between fundraising stops at the end of a two-state campaign swing.

At the first of three stops in Manhattan, Obama met with donors at the Upper East Side town house of campaign supporters Jack and Phyllis Rosen. A group of 50 people paid $10,000 each to sip cocktails and meet the president before he moved on to another event at the Gotham Bar and Grill in Greenwich Village, where tickets cost $35,000 a person.

Before about 60 supporters at the restaurant, Obama said he needed their help to win a second term.

"Change we can believe in was never going to be change overnight," Obama said, putting a new twist on a popular campaign slogan from his victorious 2008 presidential campaign.

Obama and his motorcade were next scheduled to head to the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers in midtown.

Obama, whose popularity among voters has continued to hover at about 43 percent, told supporters "the trajectory of the economy is sound," and listed health care legislation, Wall Street reform and the troop draw down in Iraq as examples of his accomplishments.

The Manhattan stop came at the end of a day of campaigning and politics for Obama. In Scranton, Pa., Obama told a supportive audience that he was intent on preserving a payroll tax cut for American workers that is set to expire at the end of the year.

An important swing state in the 2012 election, Pennsylvania was the first stop on the president's two-state trip. The economy will take another hit if Congress fails to extend the cuts, Obama said in Scranton.

"We're not fully out of the recession yet," Obama said during the rally.

Later, Obama arrived in New York City, during an almost perfect storm of presidential and holiday spectacle. As the president's motorcade zipped along closed-off Manhattan streets, Rockefeller Center was hosting its annual Christmas tree lighting. The combination of presidential motorcade and holiday visitors to Manhattan led to closed streets and traffic jams in several locations that even on a good day pose a challenge for motorists.

The FDR Drive was completely shut down for Obama's motorcade starting at about 7 p.m.

In a dark suit and a maroon tie, the president struck a casual tone at both the town house and the Greenwich Village campaign stops. At one point, reporters were asked to leave both locations as he spoke to supporters. At the Gotham Bar and Grill, Obama spoke briefly, then shooed reporters away and spent the next 45 minutes talking to backers behind closed doors.