A Juggling Act for Obama in the Land of Big Wallets

Election years always bring with them tough balancing efforts for presidential candidates trying to stay on the good side of powerful constituencies. But few can come close to the high-wire act that President Obama must perform in the next two days as he seeks to soothe Hollywood, that longtime bastion of fund-raising dollars for Democrats, while not alienating the high-tech industry that has itself surged to the top of the Obama money list.

First, the soothing. President Obama is flying to Los Angeles to attend three fund-raisers, including one hosted by the actor Will Ferrell and Bradley Bell, a soap opera executive (“The Bold and the Beautiful”). The Foo Fighters will be on hand to perform; expect to see a number of other glitterati. Problem: President Obama is in the doghouse with the show-business people, who are mad because the White House didn’t support them on the antipiracy bill that got squashed in Congress in January after Google and other Internet high fliers descended on Washington to pressure the White House and Congress to oppose it in a standoff that left Hollywood reeling. But the president has also come to rely on cash from Hollywood, which contributed $9.2 million to his 2008 campaign coffers, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.