Obama: Democracy at Stake in Election

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- President Barack Obama says a functioning American democracy is what's at stake in November's elections.

He says it's important to elect leaders who believe compromise isn't a dirty word, who listen to those who disagree with them and respect those who are unlike them.

Obama mentioned Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz several times in remarks at a House Democratic fundraiser late Friday at the Los Angeles home of Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn and his wife, Cindy, an environmental advocate.

Actors Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Julia Roberts and Gwyneth Paltrow were among the approximately 100 people who attended, along with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, and other members of Congress. Tickets cost $33,400 per couple.

Obama was attending three fundraisers in California on Friday.

(KA)