President Barack Obama, right, shakes hands with supporters after delivering remarks at Gen44 fundraiser event at Sony Studios in Los Angeles, Thursday, April 21, 2011. President Obama headed west to sell his big picture deficit-reduction plan. But many people are waiting for a quick fix to their own economic problems caused chiefly by persistent unemployment and the crippled housing market. Audiences in California and Nevada understood why it’s important to get a handle on the deficit over the long term. Yet they made clear that the economic recovery hasn’t fully taken hold in ways that are meaningful to them. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)