With Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg by his side and taking a few of the thousands of questions sent his way, President Barack Obama got comfortable and tried to calm concerns over out-of-control spending and a Washington stand-off that could be disastrous to the U.S. economy.

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Using an online campaign that feeds off making “friends,” Obama hopes his virtual town hall will translate into votes for re-election. He spent part of the evening responding directly to 19 million Facebook fans.

The subjects ranged from education, employment to climate change and immigration.

The president was in Northern Virginia on Tuesday and heads to Nevada Friday. The visits are aimed at putting pressure on Congress to lift the nation’s debt ceiling and lower spending to avoid another recession.