Hollywood Celebs Open Wallets For Obama

Entertainment Industry Remains Reliable Source For Democratic Campaign Funds

(CBS/AP)  Barack Obama's gala fundraiser Tuesday will attract the mandatory lineup of big-screen talent and boldface names - actors Samuel L. Jackson and Dennis Quaid, model Cindy Crawford and boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard - and confirm again that the entertainment industry remains one of the most reliable and abundant sources of Democratic campaign cash.

The party's 2008 presidential candidates pocketed eight of every $10 coming from movie, TV and music businesses, and Hillary Rodham Clinton's withdrawal from the race all but guarantees a Hollywood windfall for Obama as the party begins to unite around its presumed nominee.

The glitzy gathering will be an early test of Obama's ability to enlist Clinton's financial backers, many of whom are still nursing some pain from the grueling primary contest. Obama will meet with Clinton and some of her top fundraisers on Thursday in Washington and the two will campaign together for the first time on Friday in New Hampshire. Meanwhile, Obama and his campaign have been coaxing Clinton's numerous fundraisers to join his finance operation, which raised more than $287 million as of the end of May.

Among prominent Clinton supporters in Southern California, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa - a Clinton national co-chair - met with Obama in Miami on Saturday and has committed to work for his election. Director Rob Reiner has reached out to the Obama campaign. And Ron Burkle, a close friend of former President Clinton known for holding lavish fundraisers at his Beverly Hills estate, “is happy to do whatever the campaign asks,” said spokesman Frank Quintero.

The Los Angeles event comes just days after Obama spurned the public financing system for the general election, opening the way for him to raise and spend hundreds of millions of dollars after the Denver convention in a race in which he's already broken fundraising records.

Top tickets are priced at more than $30,000, with the money divided between the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee.

“There are a few Republicans in this town,” says Chad Griffin, a Clinton fundraiser and Hollywood-connected political consultant, who is now supporting Obama. “I do not anticipate anyone in this industry supporting John McCain, regardless of whom they supported in the primary.”

McCain has banked money from producer Jerry Bruckheimer and “Saturday Night Live” executive producer Lorne Michaels, but “Hollywood has already voted with its feet,” said Clinton-fundraiser-turned-Obama-fundraiser John Emerson, alluding to the steady flow of entertainment money to Democrats in the primary season.

While wealthy celebrities often lavish money on multiple candidates, Obama's donors already include Will Smith, George Clooney, Jennifer Aniston, Leonard Nimoy and singer Harry Connick Jr. Oprah Winfrey's fundraiser for Obama at her Santa Barbara-area estate was one of the biggest events of the primary season, helping cement Obama's position as a credible challenger to Clinton.

An analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics, based on fundraising data released May 21, found Obama had collected more than $4 million from movie, TV and music businesses during the campaign. Clinton had received $3.4 million.

McCain's take: $636,000.

That's in keeping with prior years. In 2004, Democrats seeking federal offices banked about 70 percent of the donations from those industries.

Hollywood “is always an uphill climb for Republicans,” said McCain campaign spokesman Brian Rogers. “I think that we're very encouraged by the support that we've been able to get from the folks in the entertainment industry, and John McCain is a great fan of a lot of the work that they do.”

It was McCain who had a cameo in the 2005 comedy “The Wedding Crashers.”

On a fundraising swing through California this week, McCain will be tapping into sources in the business community. Billionaire investor George Argyros is holding a $25,000-a-head dinner for the Arizona senator at his Newport Beach home.

For Obama, the most important people at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on Tuesday might not be the celebrities on the guest list or the Grammy-winning entertainers on stage. A measure of his progress in recruiting Clinton donors will be how many of his vanquished rival's supporters turn out for the Los Angeles event. Emerson was among a group of top Clinton fundraisers who met with Obama staff last week.

It could be a mixed showing.

For Clinton supporters “it's very hard to let go of this dream and take all of this energy and put it toward his campaign. That's easier said than done for many people,” said Eleni Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis, a major Clinton fundraiser now pooling money for the Illinois senator.

Obama “does not have a money problem. The urgency of raising money is less than the urgency of healing the wounds,” said Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis, who has raised more than $1 million for Clinton since her first Senate race in 2000 in New York.

The best persuader will be Clinton herself. “We lose too much if we lose the White House. Her continuing to say that is of paramount importance,” Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis said.

For Obama, the Tuesday money will only be the beginning. Not surprisingly, there's already buzz that David Geffen is organizing a major Hollywood fundraiser for Obama later this year.

[jack3213]

LOL.WE all know Celebs are nothing more than ''script readers'' with no life experiance- which is exactly what Obama is.

[omaar-101]

Posted by MCVet: its True, Your racist A$$, wants to have Hot *** with Obama.

Your Racist A$$ wants some of that Hot Obama Lovin...

You Aryan & Nazi ...Sissy






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[sgtrds-e4]

Just because they are celebrities doesn''t mean they don''t have the right to express their opinion. It''s not surprising that they flock around Obama like the Rat Pack did around Kennedy. Barack is the future, if we can keep him alive.

[rowdywicca]

Wow, nobody already knew the Hollywood movie mafia was supporting Obama? How strange, every other mafia in the US is supporting him! Wow, whatta surprise!

[aldon61]

It''''s not surprising that they flock around Obama like the Rat Pack did around Kennedy. Barack is the future, if we can keep him alive.


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Posted by SgtRDS-E4 at 02:36 AM : Jun 24, 2008

That last part has me worried Sarge but it''s true; I hope the secret service beefs up during his presidency. He IS our hope for the future.

[beastof70]

Senator Obama what''s this you''re telling America??

TO GO DRILL OURSELVES?!?!?!


HHHHuuuuuhhhhh???

[beastof70]

Senator Obama what''s this you''re telling America??

TO GO DRILL OURSELVES?!?!?!

=======================

BTW: This is what I just ordered as a rear window decal to be worn proudly until OsamaObama quits taking big ethanol cash to keep driving the price of crude up.

[beastof70]

Yesterday we saw Chris Dodd, the Democrat Senator in charge of Banking and some other Democrat Senator in charge of Budget, and Tax Code caught red handed taking cash for favors from Countrywide and others such companies involved in this Home Mortgage tax payer funded bail out.

Fast forward to today and we see OsamaObama has been caught with this hand in the cookie jar of big ethanol producers while he continues to advocate higher fuel prices.

Hey OsamaObama....Will that "Wind Fall Profits" tax include ethanol????

What''s that you Democrat Santors are telling us Americans...

"Go drill ourselves?!?!?"

And the best they have is some former GOP Senator supposedly caught tapping his toe in a mens room stall, and Cheney who used to work for an oil well servicing company??

DDDDDDDDuuuuuuuhhhhhhh???

[jack3213]

Winston Churchill said it best:

"If at 20, you''re not a liberal, you have no heart. And by the time you reach 40, if you''re not a conservative, you have no brain."

[beastof70]

Now that this new has broke about Senator Obama being in the pocket of big ethanol producers we can now certainly understand why at least one celebrety is supporting Senator Obama.

Willie Nelson is heavily invested in bio-diesel.

Reckon how many of these celebs are serving as conduits through which these bio-fuel producers hand Senator Obama the cash so he will continue to drive crude oil prices higher??

[king_quest]

McCain Hypocrisy on Obama''s Opt-Out DecisionThe McCain campaign has sharply criticized Barack Obama''s decision to become the first general election presidential candidate since the 1970s to opt out of the public financing system, a decision Obama can afford because of his stunning success with hundreds of thousands of low-dollar donors. As David notes at the link above, the McCain campaign said Obama''s decision "undermines his call for a new type of politics."

But McCain, a longtime foe of Big Money in politics, once had a friendlier view of presidential fundraisers like Obama.

Here he is on the Fox News show "On the Record," in January 2004:

"I think it''s wonderful that Howard Dean was able to use the Internet, $50, $75, $100 contributions. That''s what we want it to be all about. We want average citizens to contribute small amounts of money, and that''s a commitment to a campaign. So I''m for that. I think it''s a great thing. I think the Internet is going to change American politics for the better."
And here he is on MSNBC''s "Hardball," in June 2004:

"The Internet is generating more and more people involved in the political process with relatively small campaign contributions, $50, $75. That''s wonderful. No longer can an office holder call up a CEO or a trial lawyer or a union leader and say, I need $1 million. And, by the way, your legislation is up before my committee again."

[jack3213]

Obama is doing it again. Look at his new commercial introducing himself to the American People and listen to what he is saying at his fundraisers. In his new Commercial introducing himself Obama puts pictures of himself, his mother and Grandparents. He tells us he was raised with Kansas values. The point was to reassure white ethnic middle class voters that he is one of them. Then in his fundraiser, to explain why he is not accepting public financing for the General Election he is telling his African American and Liberal base it is because they will use his Race, African American, against him.in the General Election. Who are the they Obama%u2019s is referring to? The White Rebublican Establishment that runs this country. Those comments were made explicitly for his African American and Liberal base to energize them to register and vote in November. Obama fails to mention the Hate Sites of the Daily Kos and MoveOn.org and other Radical Far Left Wing 527s that are trashing John McCain every day. To Obama they are O.K.

[king_quest]

Quotes Falsely Attributed

These quotes make
for good story-telling
but popular myth has
falsely attributed them
to Churchill.


"Conservative by the time you''re 35"
"If you''re not a liberal when you''re 25, you have no heart. If you''re not a conservative by the time you''re 35, you have no brain." There is no record of anyone hearing Churchill say this. Paul Addison of Edinburgh University makes this comment: "Surely Churchill can''t have used the words attributed to him. He''d been a Conservative at 15 and a Liberal at 35! And would he have talked so disrespectfully of Clemmie, who is generally thought to have been a lifelong Liberal?"

http://www.winstonchurchill.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=112

Liar Exposed: Posted by jack3213 at 11:25 AM : Jun 24, 2008

[king_quest]

I will have to change my name to myth-buster, with a new slogan (Exposing the Liars-R-Us-Repubs.)

[imarltool2u]

I just gave $2,300 to President Obama. give me a pap.

[beastof70]

Now that this news about Senator Obama being in the pocket of big ethanol producers has oome out we can all now understand why at least one celebrety is supporting Senator Obama.

Willie Nelson is heavily invested in bio-diesel.

Reckon how many more of these celebs are serving as conduits for these bio-fuel producers to launder money to Senator Obama in exchange for his oontinued effort to drive crude oil prices even higher??

[beastof70]

Quotes Falsely Attributed
These quotes make for good story-telling but popular myth has falsely attributed them to Churchill.
"Conservative by the time you''re 35" "If you''re not a liberal when you''re 25, you have no heart. If you''re not a conservative by the time you''re 35, you have no brain." There is no record of anyone hearing Churchill say this. Paul Addison of Edinburgh University makes this comment: "Surely Churchill can''t have used the words attributed to him. He''d been a Conservative at 15 and a Liberal at 35! And would he have talked so disrespectfully of Clemmie, who is generally thought to have been a lifelong Liberal?"
Posted by King_quest at 11:54 AM : Jun 24, 2008
==============================

I agree, this sounds more like something a "compassionate" conservative like G.W. Bush might say. Not Winston Churchill.

According to whoever offered it, I''m one heartless SOB, since I''ve always been a real American conservative and never an un-American libwad, even for a moment.

[beastof70]

I just gave $2,300 to President Obama. give me a pap.
Posted by imarltool2u at 12:15 PM : Jun 24, 2008
=================

Admittedly you are a tool. LOL!!

What kind of pap are you calling for...A PAP smear??

[beastof70]

SENATOR OBAMA, WHAT DO YOU MEAN AMERICANS SHOULD GO DRILL THEMSELVES?!?!?!

=======================

BTW: This is the bumper stickers I just ordered. It will be worn proudly on all of my vehicles until OsamaObama quits taking big ethanol cash in exchange for him continuing to drive the price of crude up.

[beastof70]

SENATOR OBAMA, WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHEN YOU TELL AMERICANS TO GO DRILL THEMSELVES?!?!?!

=======================

How about this one for a bumper sticker??