National Basketball Association

Obama joins NBA greats at fundraiser

Published Oct. 11, 2010 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

President Barack Obama continued his pre-election attack on the Republican party Monday night in Miami at a fundraiser attended by some of the NBA's biggest names, The Hill reported.

The benefit at the Coral Gables home of Miami Heat great Alonzo Mourning was expected to raise more than $1 million for Rep. Ron Klein’s campaign ahead of the midterm elections.

Klein faces Republican Allen West in November, in a race categorized as a toss-up by RealClearPolitics.

The Miami event was attended by Heat players Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade and former Los Angeles Lakers great Magic Johnson.

"I am stunned that Alonzo let a Laker in here," Obama joked. "But he said that Magic transcends party lines."

Addressing Bosh and Wade, Obama said: "I like you, but when you play the Bulls, I'm rooting against you."

Sticking to the basketball references, Obama referred to himself as a "pretty good point guard," but said he needed a good team around him in Congress.

With three weeks left before the midterms, Obama called on supporters to rally around Democrats at the polls. He warned Americans not to let Republicans gain control of the House, Politico reported.

"We've got to tell them in this election you can't have the keys back. You don't know how to drive! You can get in the car, but you got to ride in the backseat," he said.

When an audience member told Obama the Republicans should be "in the trunk," Obama responded: "No, we wouldn’t do that. We got room in the back. But we don't want their hands on the wheel."

Obama rejected the idea advanced by some Washington pundits that he may actually benefit from a Republican seizure of the House of Representatives or the Senate, as it would give him a political foe to run against.

"That may be short-term political thinking in the minds of pundits — that's not how I think because I'm thinking about how do I move the country forward," Obama said.

Polls appear to show Republicans poised to win the House of Representatives back from Democrats in the elections but with a tougher task to capture the Senate.