Obama Milking Birth Certificate Story: 'Today Was a Fun Day. Nobody Checked My ID at the Door'

Good to see he's getting back to the serious issues like fundraising and schmoozing with Oprah and getting past all the silliness.

President Obama crashed the Big Apple on Wednesday night for a hobnobbing, glad-handing, check-cashing blitz from the upper East Side to midtown.

A trio of fund-raisers included a swank soiree at the Fifth Ave. home of former New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, a gala at the Waldorf-Astoria and a jamming Roots concert at Town Hall.

The events were expected to net up to $3 million for the Democratic Party and Obama's 2012 reelection campaign.

The President insisted he'll need it.

He told 60 deep-pocketed donors at Corzine's elegant apartment overlooking Central Park that winning in 2012 is "going to be a little bit harder than the first time around."

He even made a joke about the news that dogged him through the day - the release of his birth certificate.

"Today was a fun day," he cracked. "Nobody checked my ID at the door."

Guests including Democratic royal Kerry Kennedy, cosmetics mogul Bobbi Brown and former Connecticut Senate and gubernatorial hopeful Ned Lamont - and they all gave the maximum $35,800.

At the lavish cash bash at the Waldorf, about 350 Democratic fat cats paid at least $2,500 to enter - and dug deeper for perks like premium seating and a podium shoutout.

Ironically, Obama wants to be seen as the grown-up in this story. I guess cracking cheap jokes elevates him above everyone else.

Meanwhile, bitter clingers in the South were devastated by massive tornadoes, with the death toll up to at least 173 people as of this morning. It obviously wasn't a fun day for them.

Obama managed to find a minute in between his marathon fundraising to offer his condolences.

"Michelle and I extend our deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives because of the tornadoes that have swept through Alabama and the southeastern United States," he said in a statement. "Our hearts go out to all those who have been affected by this devastation, and we commend the heroic efforts of those who have been working tirelessly to respond to this disaster."