The gay marriage endorsement was all about Hollywood's money and Obama's ego
What was the gay marriage endorsement really all about? Ignore the timelines about Joe Biden being a loudmouth and follow the money instead. On Monday, the day before the North Carolina vote, the Hollywood Reporter reported that the marriage question was hurting Obama among west coast donors. “It's safe to say that the longer Obama waits on the issue, the more frustrated the [movie] community will grow with him. Perhaps it won't cost him their votes, but it might slow the flow of cash and public rally appearances. That concern doesn't end with Hollywood … One in six of Obama's so-called bundlers – people who raise money in great stacks for the president's campaign – is gay, giving the issue great importance in his fiscal game.”
So on Monday, Obama was losing dollars on the Hollywood fundraising circuit. On Wednesday, he endorsed gay marriage. On Thursday, he flew to Hollywood for a fundraiser, where 150 donors paid $40,000 each to meet the Prez at the home of George Clooney. Coincidence?
Wait, there’s more! Within minutes of the ABC interview that broke the endorsement, the Pres Tweeted “Same-sex couples should be able to get married.” Later, he issued a photo of himself making the statement with the word (you guessed it) “history” flashed everywhere. Within 90 minutes, Obama’s re-election campaign had pulled in $1 million in donations, while it quickly rolled out a new attack ad calling Romney “backwards” on gay rights. The Hollywood Reporter again: “On June 6, the president will be at the SLS hotel in Beverly Hills for an LGBT fundraiser featuring a performance by Pink. (A sellout now is virtually guaranteed.) Obama will be at another LBGT fundraiser Monday in New York, featuring a performance by Ricky Martin.”
That’s what Barack Obama’s endorsement of gay marriage was all about – not history, not equality, but prising open George Clooney’s wallet. Note that Obama still insists that this issue should be decided at a state level and he has refused to sign a “nondiscrimination executive order.” Given the impotence of his endorsement, it really comes down to one man sharing his personal opinion about a moral matter with the rest of nation. And then making a lot of money out of it.
Of course, Obama has a very high opinion of his personal opinion and probably regards it as “priceless” in every sense....
But so do his dupes in Hollywood, and in our mainstream media. Let's hear a little about Obama's date with George from the Washington Post, which seems a bit weak in the knees at the celebrity overload:
What would you do if you got to spend three hours at George Clooney’s house? With George Clooney?
That’s how long President Obama spent at the Hollywood star’s luxurious hillside house in Studio City Thursday evening for a $40,000-a-head fundraiser that was expected to collect anywhere from $6 million to $15 million for the president’s reelection campaign.
The setting was actually a party tent on Clooney’s basketball court. Guests included actor Tobey Maguire, who sat to the right of Clooney and his girlfriend, Stacy Kiebler. Nearby was Diane Von Furstenberg. Also spotted: actors and entertainers Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Salma Hayek, Barbra Streisand (at a rear table and looking serious throughout, in black beret) and husband James Brolin.
The tent had black walls and a clear roof through which the sky and trees of the wooded property could be seen. White paper lanterns of different sizes hung from the roof, celadon-green wallboards with mirrors were at the front and rear, centerpieces of blue hydrangeas graced each table and two slender, tall white urns flanked the short stage with branches of white blossoms.
DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg said the fundraiser had raised “a record nearly $15 million,” a figure that includes both the $40,000-a-person seats in the tent, and the proceeds from the online sweepstakes for two people to join the Hollywood event.
Epilogue:
Obama flew to the fundraiser at the Clooney estate on taxpayer-financed Air Force One...
Obama landing in LA yesterday...
(first two photos via TNR, third from Can I Just Finish My Waffle?)
