Sen. Hillary Clinton and her supporters called out media coverage that they said has been overly critical of her presidential campaign and too gentle on her opponent Sen. Barack Obama, who has beat Clinton in 11 straight primary contests, at a campaign fundraiser last night at the Back Bay Events Center.

Clinton moved to drum up support and pick up donations for her campaign, which has been struggling since she registered a win in Massachusetts Feb. 5. With five-time presidential candidate Ralph Nader attracting attention as he announced his bid for the White House yesterday, Clinton welcomed the support of Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and spoke directly to voters and pundits.

“Quit misleading people about what I do, enough is enough,” she said, speaking directly to the audience and into television cameras, as she commented on recent criticism of her Obama attack ads. “You know I can stand toe-to-toe against John McCain on any stage.”

Clinton’s Boston visit is a way for her to motivate her fundraising base and stir up delegates in New England states that have not yet held their primaries, said Boston University political science professor Simon Sheppard.

“Coverage of the rally will spill over into the media markets for Rhode Island and Vermont, both of which are also contested on March 4,” he said in an email.

Menino got to the point about the campaign’s strategic date that also includes primaries in delegate-rich Ohio and Texas. “[The media is] going to use all those tactics to confuse the issues,” he said. “We have to commit ourselves to March 4.”

Clinton touched upon her plan for mandated universal health care and criticized Obama’s similar proposal that would not mandate health insurance, therefore, she said, leaving 15 million people uninsured.

“I do not want to leave anyone out,” she said. “I am not running for president to put Band-Aids on our problems — I am running to heal them,” Clinton said.

State Senate President Therese Murray questioned Obama’s campaign message that emphasized “change.”

“There will be change, but we have to have the right kind of change and we cannot have the elite of our party tell us how to do it,” she said.

Laury Gutierrez, director of La Donna Musicale, a Boston composer society, said he thinks Obama is a “coward” because he relied on advertising in Wisconsin, instead of debating Clinton.

Gutierrez said she watches CNN and MSNBC and said the media has shown Obama “compassion” by not disparaging him.

Alternative delegate Ricky Donneson said the media pushed former candidates John Edwards out of the race.

“He’s a great candidate — he just couldn’t hold up with the media. He couldn’t keep up,” Donneson said.