LOS ANGELES - Claiming that the country is moving in the right direction under his watch, US President Barak Obama Thursday night reached for thongs of supporters at the sprawling Sony Studios outside Los Angeles as part of his newly-launched reelection bid.

"The country somehow found a way to make ourselves more prosperous and deal with the transition from an agricultural to an industrial economy and then to an information economy," Obama told some 2,500 people in audience at his first fundraiser in southern California. "We figured out how to absorb new immigrants and finally deal with the stain of slavery, make sure that women were full participants in our democracy."

The president also told the crowd that he will make Chicago, instead of Washington, DC, his campaign headquarters as he wanted his campaign to have a renewed perspective. It was his sixth visit to the city since he took office and his fourth fundraising visit there.

Altogether, Obama held two fundraisers at Sony Studios and a third at a Brentwood restaurant, with tickets sold in the $250-to-35,800 range.

In his speeches at those events, Obama claimed his administration has helped lead a rebound of the auto industry and cracked down on abuses in the banking industry, citing hefty investments in alternative energy in an effort to combat rising gas prices.

But the visit wasn't sweat for everybody. A group of Armenian Americans protested outside Sony Studios, while demonstrators from the Coalition for Humane Immigration Rights of Los Angeles asked the president to honor his pledge over immigration laws.

The Los Angeles trip is part of the president's west coast swing which is mainly aimed at fundraising for his reelection bid. He is scheduled to leave Los Angeles for Washington Friday morning.

All proceeds from the events on Thursday will go to the Obama Victory Fund, a joint account of the Democratic National Committee and Obama for America, his campaign committee.