All last week, President Obama continued a cross-country tour to promote his jobs bill. But as the quarterly deadline for fundraising approached, he also found plenty of time to woo the West Coast’s rich and famous in search of their campaign dollars. In fact, Obama attended seven fundraisers in the space of two days — a crash-course cash crawl that may have grossed his campaign up to $10 million.
On Sunday, Sept. 25, Obama began his tour at 12:33 p.m. with a fundraiser at the 27,000-square foot, art-draped home of former Microsoft Chief Operating Officer Jon Shirley in Medina, Wash. Sixty-five attendees paid $35,800 per couple to join Obama at an intimate dinner. Attendees included Bill Neukom, the San Francisco Giants general manager; Jim Sinegal, CEO of Costco, and Gerald Grinstein, strategic director of Madrona Venture Group and previously CEO of Delta.
Afterward, Obama took the stage at 2:38 p.m. at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle where local basketball greats Bill Russell and Lenny Wilkens hosted a 1,700-donor fundraiser. Balcony seats cost $100. Luncheon tickets began at $1,000. A picture with the president went for $7,500. “I need you guys to shake off any doldrums,” Obama said. “I need you to decide right here and right now, talk to your friends and neighbors and co-workers and tell them, ‘You know what? We’re not finished yet.’ ”
Obama then flew to California, and by 6:15 p.m. he was at the Woodside home of John Thompson, chairman of tech company Symantec. He and his wife, Sandi, hosted a fundraiser for 350 people at $2,500 per ticket.
At 7:30, Obama’s motorcade departed for the most exclusive and expensive fundraiser, at the home of Sheryl Sandberg (COO of Facebook) and David Goldberg in Atherton, Calif. Lady Gaga was there, and 70 donors paid $35,800 per couple to attend. “I’m just letting Zuckerberg know, I’m taking her on the road,” Obama jokingly said of Sandberg (not of Lady Gaga).
On Monday, Obama landed in San Diego and went to a $5,000-a-head fundraiser at the La Jolla, Calif., home of wealthy philanthropists Mason and Elizabeth Phelps. The event began at 12:30 p.m., and Paul Jacobs, chairman and CEO of Qualcomm Inc., and Joe Kiani, CEO of Masimo Corp., attended. “There is a season for campaigning and it’s coming soon.” Obama told the group.
Obama moved on to West Hollywood’s famous House of Blues at 4:30 p.m., where a crowd of about 1,000 people paid between $250 and $10,000 to attend. Obama was introduced by Jesse Tyler Ferguson of “Modern Family.” “Michelle and the girls love them some ‘Modern Family,’ ” Obama told the crowd. “They love that show.”
By 6 p.m., Obama had arrived at West Hollywood’s Fig & Olive to attend a fundraiser hosted by Jeffrey Katzenberg, a DreamWorks studio executive. The event, which cost $17,900 per person, was attended by wealthy Hollywood celebrities such as Jamie Foxx, Eva Longoria, will.i.am, Jack Black, Danny DeVito and Judd Apatow.
“It is a remarkable group,” said Obama to the crowd. “There are a lot of friends here who have been with us since the beginning. John remembers me when I had no gray hair.”
The motorcade left Fig & Olive at 9:26 p.m. In about 21 hours, Obama chalked up millions of dollars for his re-election campaign.
The next day, Obama’s campaign emailed an appeal to his small donors: “I enjoy talking about fundraising deadlines as much as I imagine you enjoy hearing about them,” he wrote. “But this Friday’s deadline is important. It’s a chance for us to prove how we’re different from any campaign in politics: We rely on ordinary Americans giving what they can — one grassroots donation at a time.”
Charlie Spiering is a commentary staff writer for The Examiner. He can be reached at [email protected]
