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As President Barack Obama turns the big 5-0 on Thursday, it appears that he's already been granted a birthday wish. During a recent interview with NPR, the president was asked if he wanted "anything special" to mark the occasion. His response: "You know, what I really want right now is to -- to get a debt ceiling deal for my birthday. That's kind of sad, I know." Earlier this week, Obama signed a deal reached by Democrats and Republicans to raise the deficit limit to prevent the country from defaulting on its debts. Trying to make up for lost time, Obama plunged back into his re-election campaign Wednesday, urging supporters not to be discouraged by the frustrating debt negotiations that consumed Washington and kept him from raising money for his 2012 bid. On the eve of his 50th birthday, Obama spoke to donors at two fundraisers at the historic Aragon Ballroom, and via video conference to supporters at more than 1,000 house parties from coast to coast. The fundraisers were held as Obama's presidential campaign lowered expectations for how much money it would bring in this summer, in part because the campaign had to cancel 10 events while the president and his staff were stuck in Washington for the showdown over raising the government's debt limit. Obama's quick stop in Chicago was his first trip outside the Washington region in more than a month. Obama didn't try to sell his supporters on the deal to raise the debt ceiling and cut spending that he signed this week after arduous negotiations with Republicans. But he did warn that the country couldn't afford another "self-inflicted wound" like it experienced this summer. "We don't have time to play these partisan games. We've got too much work to do," Obama said. He told supporters not to be discouraged by the partisan fights in Washington, saying, "You did not elect me president to duck the tough issues. You elected me president to do the tough things." At a high-dollar dinner fundraiser later in the night, took a swipe at his Republican adversaries, saying, "I give the other side credit. They are single-minded in their focus in wanting to cut programs and shrink government." The Obama campaign hoped the president's Chicago events would give a boost to fundraising efforts that are expected to bring in tens of millions less this summer than the $86 million raised for the campaign and the Democratic National Committee in the spring. "We're going to raise significantly less in the third quarter than we did in the second quarter," said Jim Messina, Obama's campaign manager. "We will not be able to replace all of these events just because of his busy schedule. We always knew that he had his job and we had to do this around his schedule, and the truth is we just have to deal with canceling a month's worth of events." The president still holds a large fundraising advantage over his GOP rivals and has been quietly building his campaign organization while Republicans try to establish themselves with voters in Iowa, New Hampshire and other early voting states. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney collected more than $18 million through the end of June, while Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, another top contender in the GOP race, brought in $4 million. Obama was greeted in Chicago by his former chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, now mayor of Chicago, before heading to a fundraiser headlined by local favorites Herbie Hancock, Jennifer Hudson and the band OK Go. Donors paid between $50 and $35,800, the legal maximum, to attend. With the cloud of uncertainty that surrounded the debt debate lifted, Obama smiled brightly while the crowd of about 2,400 sang "Happy Birthday."