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Two days before a big fundraiser at Sarah Jessica Parker’s house in New York, the Obama campaign today announced a new version of its popular and profitable lotto dinner. “We’re adding a twist to the upcoming Dinner with Barack: You not only have the chance to sit down for a meal with the President and a guest of your choice. You also get to help pick the President’s guest,” said the campaign in an online and email blast today. Like with the record-breaking May 10 fundraiser at George Clooney’s pad and this week’s big affair co-hosted by the Sex and The City star and Vogue editor Anna Wintour, potential attendees need only donate $3 to enter into the guest lotto. Like the Clooney and Parker events, there will of course likely be other guests who paid big bucks to be in the room — tickets for the Clooney dinner went for around $40,000 a pop. While they’ll cover the winners’ airfare and hotel, the campaign offered no date or location for this latest dinner. Maybe that’s the next fundraising twist — pick where to have dinner with the president. Bet they have great snacks down in the Situation Room.
Related: President Obama Talks Gay Marriage At George Clooney’s Record $15M Fundraiser
There was no lotto when the President was in town last week for more of Hollywood’s cash. But tickets for the fundraiser at Glee creator Ryan Murphy and his fiancé David Miller’s house went for $25,000 for individuals and $40,000 for couples. Reese Witherspoon, Julia Roberts and HBO’s Michael Lombardo were among the 70 guests. Earlier last week, Obama was in NYC with former President Bill Clinton and Jon Bon Jovi as his wingmen.
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It has to be Ted Nugent, right?
They are so stupid they don’t realize that all these glitzy celebrity dinners turn off millions of voters in Middle America who hate Hollywood celebs with a passion. They love seeing their movies and watching their TV shows but they can’t stand seeing their President socialize with them so much. Most Americans think Hollywood is a negative but not Obama and his handlers they are so desperate for money they think this is the best way to get it. Keep it up you will have lots of time for fancy dinners starting on January 21st when you will be back in Chicago as a private citizen and an ex-president.
I take it you were anti-Reagan, then?
Both Obama and Romney go to numerous fundraisers every month, the only difference is that a majority of Obama’s happen to be with Hollywood personalities whereas a majority of Romney’s are with Wall Street execs (however Obama goes to a few Wall Street fundraisers too).
I guess the question is, who would you rather have our President beholden to? Wall Street, which is going to push for less financial regulations (think Financial Meltdown 2008), or Hollywood, which is likely to push for things like gay marriage and alternative energy?
I for one, would rather see our president rubbing elbows with a Hollywood celeb than a Wall Street banker any day.
I agree. Obama needs to distance himself from these Hollywood celebs and their over-the-top self-congratulatory dinners. It’s starting to make him look like a star f**cker.
How wonderfully out of touch this guy is–hanging out so ostentatiously with Hollywood’s one-percenters while working Americans suffer so terribly from his clueless policies. And BTW, how many times is it now that Obama has jetted into LA for the sole purpose of raising campaign money?–I mean, not even a pretense of governance, not even some fig-leaf LA-area event about real people and their problems, nothing remotely presidential, just fundraiser after fundraiser, month after month, bringing LA traffic to a standstill merely so Obama can sup at every $20-million mansse of a Prius-driving hypocrite, then back aboard Air Force One for the flight to D.C. and the next speech about how those rich Republicans give a shit. Yes, all presidents have to raise campaign money, but none has done it so relentlessly, so hypocritically. Swing voters are paying attention….which is why this craven amateur is gonna be real easy to beat in November.
You assault Obama for being a devious and relentless fundraiser, and yet it was Romney who raked in about $17 million more than Obama last month. Both men will spend a lot of time raising money this year. This isn’t a partisan issue.
Yeah, but see Obama is president, kind of an important job, and yet he’s spending an unseemly and thoroughly unprecedented amount of time on fundraising. All presidents running for re-election have to raise cash, I get it. But Obama is doing so FAR more often and single-mindedly than any predecessor, Democrat or Republican (look it up); Doing so almost exclusively with fancy and famous Hollywood one-percenters; And then, with his characteristic piousness, ripping Republicans for being the party of the rich. It’s hypocritical and tacky and derelict, and I think he’ll pay a huge price at the polls.
Those 1% are ready to pay there fair share and that’s the difference.
The main difference in the ways Romney and Obama are raising funds is Romney is mostly courting Wall Street types and big business, with promises of overturning financial reforms and rolling back progress on healthcare. These groups have deep pockets and can contribute in large packages.
Obama has refused to take money from corporations and lobbyists and as such is largely relying on donations from everyday citizens and middle-class workers who care about the progress that has been made over the past 4 years.
It takes less work to get the kind of money that Mitt can get from big business and thus you hear more about Obama’s efforts, hence all of the publicity that you are seeing written up on Deadline posts.
I just threw up in my mouth. What a classless regime, I’m embarrassed to be a democrat. I miss the Clintons, at least they had dignity. This made me change my vote.
How is this any worse than all the CEO’s and other billion ares that Romney is courting. Presidential candidates have to court rich donors, it’s part of our flawed democracy. Obama has more trouble with rich CEO’s and such since he claims to trying to reverse the ever increasing trend towards income inequality. At least Hollywood celebs aren’t going to expect payback in the form of decreased regulations and large tax breaks. And Donald Trump anyone?!? You clearly were never going to vote for Obama in the first place and just thought that saying so would drive your point home. In fact, it made you look like an idiot.
The Clintons milked Hollywood, as well. As for that “dignity” statement….
Hollywood, wake up! Its like you are prostituting yourselves for the presidency! Oh wait, don’t you already do that for your own careers? Can anyone say “desperate”?
Neil De Grasse Tyson!
Second prize is pizza with Donald Trump.
Let them eat cake!
If I were to ever be involved in something like this, which is highly doubtful, I would bring Rush Limbaugh. Just to see how it would turn out.
Include Hannity LOL
Yawn. Fake white outrage and double standards, gotta love it…not. Blame the conservative Supreme Court and its Citizens United ruling. Now all candidates are going after the dough with gusto. If anonymous, right-wing billionaires can throw money at busted GOP candidates like Gingrich and Santorum and distort the whole democratic process, why can’t Obama have some dinners with friends? The piece above says the promotion is highly popular among small donors, so much for your flyover country, anti-Hollywood class envy/racial resentment/fake outrage.
Shit, let me donate my $3. It’s worth it just to fucking spite you people. Maybe I too can chill with Brad and Angie. LOL.
See you in November!
OBAMA 2012!