Obama\\\'s midterm effort getting off to late start

 Even while President Barack Obama's raises money for Democrats this week from coast to coast, he will steer clear of any public campaign events with Democratic candidates. Appearing with Democrats would hand Republicans easy opportunities to saddle their opponents with Obama's own political baggage. The White House says Obama will start appearing with candidates as early as next week, but as of yet, no events have been announced. Obama heads first on Tuesday to New York, where he'll headline a pair of high-dollar fundraisers for the Democratic Party. He'll then board the helicopter Marine One for the short flight to Greenwich, Connecticut, for an event benefiting Senate Democrats. The spree begins a week of events intended to shore up the party committees working to keep the Senate in Democratic hands, limit Republican gains in the House of Representatives and pick up as many governor's mansions as possible. On Thursday, Obama begins a three-day fundraising swing through California. All those events will take place in private, sparing the candidates on the ballot from a presidential photo op that could wind up in a Republican campaign ad. Just 4 in 10 Americans approved of Obama's job performance in an Associated Press-GfK poll this summer. Obama has promised this year to go all out for Democrats, and he's already held dozens of private Democratic fundraisers. But the White House says Obama's public campaign schedule — initially expected to pick up in late September — had to be pushed back as the president juggled a dizzying array of crises, ranging from fighting the Islamic State group to controlling the Ebola outbreak. Obama still plans to spend a few days a week for the rest of October outside Washington, helping rally support for Democrats in key races, aides said, with his schedule ramping up in the final days before the Nov. 4 elections. He'll also appeal to voters through radio ads, robo-calls and digital advertising aimed at revving up minorities and young voters whose sky-high turnout in 2008 helped fuel Obama's win, according to a news agency.