In Manhattan, Obama Tells Supporters That He Intends to Govern

President Obama, his troubles piling up in Washington, traveled to Manhattan for a busy evening of fundraising for the Democratic Party, telling audiences that progress was being stymied by a persistent wave of “hyper-partisanship” in the Capitol.

“My thinking was that after we beat them in 2012, well, that might break the fever,” Mr. Obama said at a fundraiser at the West Village home of the film producer Harvey Weinstein, referring to Republicans. “And it’s not quite broken yet. But I am persistent, and I am staying at it.”

The president said he hoped to draw on the spirit that poured forth after the bombings in Boston and the factory explosion in West, Tex., both of which he visited, to change the tone in Washington.

Mr. Obama made no mention, at least while reporters were present, of three major disputes swirling around his administration: the disclosure that the Internal Revenue Service had singled out conservative groups for special scrutiny; news that the Justice Department secretly obtained telephone records for reporters and editors at the Associated Press; and persistent questions about the White House’s handling of the deadly attack on the American diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya.

But the president’s tone reflected a sense of frustration and a desire to get back to governing. He spoke about having only three and a half years left in office, and what he would like to accomplish in that time.

“I want everyone to understand that my intentions over the next three and a half years are to govern, because I don’t have another race left. If we’ve got folks on the other side who are prepared to cooperate, that is great and we are ready to go. On the other hand, if there are folks who are more interested in winning elections than in thinking about the next generation, then I want to make sure there are consequences to that.”

While Mr. Obama was in New York, the White House press secretary, Jay Carney, issued a statement on the reports about the Justice Department obtaining telephone records of A.P. journalists. The White House, he said, had no knowledge of it, aside from news reports.

“We are not involved in decisions made in connection with criminal investigations, as those matters are handled independently by the Justice Department,” Mr. Carney said.