A dinner in a Beverly Hills mansion costing about 300 attendees US$28,500 each also attracted director Steven Spielberg along with actors such as Jodie Foster and Tobey Maguire, and comedian Chris Rock.

Mr Obama told the high-rolling audience that many of them had expressed jitters to him about his chances of success in the Nov 4 election against Republican John McCain.

The Illinois senator urged his supporters to 'keep steady' in the days ahead and never forget what his candidacy was about.

He offered a reminder that his campaign 'was about those who will never see the inside of a building like this and don't resent the success that's represented in this room, but just want the simple chance to be able to find a job that pays a living wage.'

Drawing laughter, Mr Obama added that he was 'confident about winning because, I've looked at John McCain, I've looked at Sarah Palin, I've looked at their agenda, and they don't have one.'

Singer-actress Barbra Streisand crooned at a US$2,500-per-head reception at the swanky Beverly Wilshire hotel after the dinner.

Obama aides would not confirm how much the twin events were set to raise but did not dispute reports that predicted a bumper haul of US$9 million, which would be a record for a single night's fundraising.

Mr McCain had accused Mr Obama of siding with the Hollywood glitterati at his lucrative events instead of with hard-hit voters trapped by the economic malaise sweeping the US.

Addressing voters in Vienna in the battleground state of Ohio, the Arizona senator earlier said Mr Obama 'talked about siding with the people, just before he flew off to Hollywood for a fundraiser with Barbra Streisand and his celebrity friends.'

'Senator Obama's not interested in the politics of hope, he's interested in his political future,' Mr McCain said.

But Mr Obama's staff said Mr McCain was on shaky ground, as he was flush with more than US$5 million after his own big fundraising event in Miami late Monday.

'I don't know who showed up in Florida where he raised US$5 million, but my guess is that it wasn't a lot of nurses, firefighters and police officers,' Mr Obama's top strategist Mr David Axelrod told reporters.

Senator McCain raised an impressive US$5.1 million at his own fundraising dinner late Monday in Florida, the Republican's campaign said.

Supporters paid US$50,000 a ticket to attend the buffet dinner in Miami's InterContinental hotel, taking Mr McCain's total fundraising in Florida to date to US$26.2 million.

Tuesday's events in Beverly Hills come after Mr Obama racked up a record-breaking US$66 million in fundraising last month, beating his previous high mark of US$55 million in February.

Mr McCain raised US$47 million in August - his best month so far. But the Republican has accepted public financing for his effort, which limits his spending to US$84 million for the general election campaign.

Mr Obama has opted out of public financing, but both candidates are maintaining a regular schedule of fundraisers to top up their coffers for the most expensive US election ever.

Under US law, the first US$2,300 of donations can go to Mr Obama's campaign and anything over that was going to the Democratic Party's election war chest. -- AFP