President Obama attended his 100th fundraiser in New York City on Thursday and left the media capital of the world with just over $5 million in campaign contributions, according to Politico.com.
The president attended four fundraisers as Republicans criticized him for doing, from their point of view, more campaigning than governing. At the same point in George W. Bush's re-election bid, he had attended 49 fundraisers for his re-election campaign.
Obama's first stop was at the penthouse home of prominent Democratic donors on the Upper West Side, where supporters paid $5,000 apiece to gain entry. After that, he stopped at the popular ABC Kitchen restaurant in downtown Manhattan, where entry was $35,800 a person.
The president continued on to a star-studded gala at an upscale home furniture store, featuring the likes of Russell Simmons and Deepak Chopra and a performance by the Roots. The approximately 900 people in the mostly young crowd paid at least $1,000 each. The president's last stop was at a dessert reception at the home of interior decorator Michael Smith. About 90 guests — among them Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein and designer Michael Kors — paid $10,000 each.
The president showed his humor throughout the stops, joking that he wouldn't sing at one of the fundraisers, since John Legend was already there. His most notable joke came when he mocked the GOP debates, saying that he felt they provided enough reason for him to be re-elected.
"We're thinking of just airing these as advertisements — without commentary. Here you go, this is what they said some time ago," he said, according to a pool report.
The Republican Party can criticize the president all they want, but in the age of super PACs, increased fundraising is a must if you want to hold on to your seat.
Read more at Politico.
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