'Barack Obama is the antichrist'

A heckler interrupted US President Barack Obama at a fundraiser. He shouted "Barack Obama is the antichrist", before he was dragged out by the security at the House of Blues theater in West Hollywood.

Obama was just about to begin his campaign appeal to raise funds for his 2012 election account, when the heckler got up, stood in front of the stage and started shouting slogans.

He shouted, "Christian God is the one and only true living God, the creator of Heaven and the Universe. I love Jesus. Jesus Christ is God. Jesus Christ is the son of God... Jesus Christ is God. Barack Obama is the antichrist."

The crowd, however, supported Obama and drowned his voice while he was being taken out.

Obama support slips; Hillary Clinton most popular

Washington: As new polls suggested that President Barack Obama's support is eroding among elements of his base, he claimed that his odds of being re-elected in 2012 are "much higher" than they were in 2008.

The latest New York Times/CBS News poll released on Friday suggested that a yearlong effort by Obama to recapture the political centre has failed to attract independent voters.

The poll found a 12-point jump since late June, to 43 percent, in the number of Americans who say the economy is getting worse. And for the first time since taking office, his disapproval rating has reached 50 percent in the Times and CBS News polls.

The poll found a 43 percent approval rating for Obama. It is significantly higher than Jimmy Carter, who had an approval rating of 31 percent at a similar time in his presidency, according to the Times and CBS News poll, which showed Ronald Reagan with an approval of 46 percent and the elder George Bush at 70 percent.

But at a small campaign fundraiser in Washington Thursday night, Obama sought to reassure donors and play down concerns of his weakness in the 2012 presidential race.

"Now, I know that, over the last couple of months, there have been Democrats who voiced concerns and nervousness about, well, in this kind of economy, isn't this just - aren't these just huge headwinds in terms of your re-election? Here's one thing I know for certain:

"The odds of me being re-elected are much higher than the odds of me being elected in the first place," the president said.

Meanwhile, another poll suggested over a third of Americans believe the US would be better off now if his 2008 Democratic rival Hillary Clinton were president.

The Bloomberg survey released Friday showed 34 percent of those questioned said America would be superior under a Hillary Clinton administration, while 47 percent said it would be about the same and 13 percent said it would be worse.

Clinton remains the most popular American political figure with nearly two-thirds of Americans holding a favourable view of the former first lady.

Half of the respondents felt the same way about Obama, who received the lowest job approval rating of his presidency, at 45 percent.

Rich should pay more taxes: Obama

Washington: With America's debt assuming dangerous proportions and no significant number of jobs being created of late, the US President Barack Obama today unveiled plans to tax the rich and reduce the deficit.

Coming out with a slew of proposals to tax the rich, Obama said his plan eliminates tax loopholes that primarily go to the wealthiest taxpayers and biggest corporations, tax breaks that small businesses and middle-class families do not get.

"If tax reform doesn't get done, this plan asks the wealthiest Americans to go back to paying the same rates that they paid during the 1990s, before the Bush tax cuts," Obama said in his speech at the Rose Garden of the White House.

"We can't afford these special lower rates for the wealthy," he argued.

Obama said his plan reduces the debt by more than USD 4 trillion.

Among other things, he said the plan asks the largest financial firms, companies saved by tax dollars during the financial crisis, to repay the American people for every dime that the US spends.

"We save an additional USD 1 trillion as we end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan," he said.

"This is how we can reduce spending: by scouring the budget for every dime of waste and inefficiency, by reforming government spending, and by making modest adjustments to Medicare and Medicaid," Obama said.

In his speech, Obama threatened to veto any bill that changes benefits for those who rely on Medicare but does not raise serious revenues by asking the wealthiest Americans or biggest corporations to pay their fair share.

"We are not going to have a one-sided deal that hurts the folks who are most vulnerable," he said.

Obama also called his countrymen to live within its means and invest in future.

"If we don't act, that burden will ultimately fall on our children's shoulders. If we don't act, the growing debt will eventually crowd out everything else, preventing us from investing in things like education or sustaining programmes like Medicare," he said.

US lifts ban on gays in American military

Washington: US President Barack Obama today said American armed forces would no longer lose the "extraordinary skills" of gays and lesbians as his administration lifted a ban on them serving in the military, ending an 18-year-old practice that had resulted in dismissal of some 14,000 service members.

"Today, the discriminatory law known as 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' is finally and formally repealed. As of today, patriotic Americans in uniform will no longer have to lie about who they are in order to serve the country they love," Obama said.

"As of today, our armed forces will no longer lose the extraordinary skills and combat experience of so many gay and lesbian service members. And today, as Commander-in-Chief, I want those who were discharged under this law to know that your country deeply values your service," he said in a statement.

The 1993 law had banned gays and lesbians from serving openly in the US military.

"No one should be left with the impression that we are unprepared. We are prepared for repeal. The force is well aware that this is coming. They've had the training. It's been in the press for months. The September 20th day is not a mystery," Pentagon spokesman George Little told reporters earlier.