Bruised by searing reviews of his debate performance last week, President Obama returned to the embrace of his Hollywood friends this weekend, raising more cash and letting George Clooney, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Elmo comfort him at three events in the final weeks of the campaign.

Punching back against the beating he's taken from pundits after a lackluster response to Mitt Romney at last week's debate, Obama called out the Republican candidate's plan to bury Big Bird and public television.

“Elmo has made a run for the border,” Obama joked.

The president earlier dropped by the Los Angeles home of Jeffrey Katzenberg for a power-huddle with the DreamWorks Animation CEO on Sunday, along with former President Bill Clinton and a group of 12 Democratic donors. The Katzenberg klatsch was the first of three engagements on Obama’s slate that day.

The crowd was considerably larger at the president’s next engagement, "30 Days To Victory," a fund-raising concert at the Nokia Theatre at L.A. Live, where about 6,000 people turned up to catch POTUS onstage with a heavy-hitting cast of celebrities backing him up.

The night’s musical acts included Jon Bon Jovi, Stevie Wonder, Katy Perry, Earth Wind and Fire and Jennifer Hudson. Three guest speakers, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro and actor George Clooney, also made the trip downtown to rally the audience.

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