US President Barack Obama turned 50 yesterday, marking a personal milestone that may offer only brief respite from a moment of political peril and rising threats to his bid for second term.

The President was celebrating hitting the half century mark privately with family and friends at the White House, including his daughter Malia, 13, back from summer camp for her dad’s special day.

But even a riotous party would be unlikely to drown out the cares of office for Mr Obama, who is nursing political wounds from a debt clash with Republicans and confronting new fears that the sickly US economy is getting worse.

First Lady Michelle Obama told supporters yesterday her husband’s coiffure was testimony to his commitment to struggling Americans as they struggle to rebuild their finances in the wake of the worst recession in decades.

“Every day, I see Barack make choices he knows will affect every American family. That’s no small task for anyone ­– and more proof that he’s earning every last one of those grey hairs,” she wrote in an e-mail.