Obama celebrates as he turns 50

President Barack Obama celebrates his 50th birthday today just days after reaching a deal with Republicans to avert a catastrophic government debt default.

Senior members of Mr Obama's staff will toast the president in the Blue Room of the White House.

At night, he will celebrate with family and friends, including some coming in from his home town of Chicago, then cap the festivities with a weekend trip to Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland.

For the sake of his re-election campaign, the celebrations started a bit early for the president.

He headlined birthday-themed fundraisers in Chicago on Wednesday night to rake in money for his campaign and spoke via video conference to supporters holding their own presidential birthday events around the US

With the cloud of uncertainty that surrounded the debt debate now lifted, Mr Obama had a wide smile on his face for much of the night.

He got another birthday serenade from musicians Jennifer Hudson, Herbie Hancock and the band OK Go, along with the crowd of about 2,400 gathered at Chicago's historic Aragon Ballroom.

At a small dinner for high-dollar donors later in the night, he said there would be one very important present waiting for him in back in Washington. His oldest daughter, Malia, was coming home from camp to celebrate his father's birthday.

Mr Obama was born near the end of the baby boom years of 1946-64. He is the third US president who belongs to the baby boom generation, a population of more than 76 million. Bill Clinton was the first, followed by George W. Bush.