McCain's closed-door fundraiser

[RunInRed 16,438]

And the headline speaker is...you guessed it...Bush.

Obama's response:

[AURaptor 1,125]

Which failed policies is Obama talking about ? Which "disastrous" economic policies ? Other than shallow rhetoric, what's Obama specifically speaking about?

Care to offer up some answers ?

[RunInRed 16,438]

Which failed policies is Obama talking about ? Which "disastrous" economic policies ? Other than shallow rhetoric, what's Obama specifically speaking about?

Care to offer up some answers ?

Iraq quagmire, AQ strongest since 9/11 and UBL still roams, Iran stronger, N Korea, stronger, No Energy Solutions, Record Healthcare costs and record unisured, Record budget deficits, No Immigration solutions, SS insolvent, Medicare unsustainable....shall I continue?

It would probably be easier for you just to tell us one problem Bush has actually solved in 8 years. Failed policies is a pretty generous description IYAM.

[Tigermike 3,041]

Other than shallow rhetoric, what's Obama specifically speaking about?

Care to offer up some answers ?

Hope & change?

[autigeremt 6,652]

More like Bait and Switch!

There's going to be some interesting news about Obama campaign fundrasing soon that will blow the lid on this party.

Stay tuned to the George Soros show.......

[Tigermike 3,041]

Which failed policies is Obama talking about ? Which "disastrous" economic policies ? Other than shallow rhetoric, what's Obama specifically speaking about?

Care to offer up some answers ?

Iraq quagmire, (Serge was a success!) AQ strongest since 9/11 (AQ disabled and fighting among them selves) and UBL still roams, (Romes in a cave) Iran stronger, (Iran economy near collapse) N Korea, stronger, (N. Korea economy in shambles0 No Energy Solutions, (DIMS have voted against any and all proposals) Record Healthcare costs and record unisured, (Obama's figures INCLUDE 12million illegal immigrants.) Record budget deficits, (SPEDING, SPENDING SPENDING) No Immigration solutions, (DIMS don't want a solution.) SS insolvent, (DIMS voted against reform. YOU have argued for the status quo) Medicare unsustainable....shall I continue? (Yeah and quit lying about everything.)

It would probably be easier for you just to tell us one problem Bush has actually solved in 8 years. Failed policies is a pretty generous description IYAM.

You need to come up with some new talking points.

[Auburn85 432]

closed door stuff is bad huh?

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/...ended-i-regret/

CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) — Barack Obama said Saturday that if he has offended people with comments he made almost a week ago where he labeled small town Pennsylvanians "bitter" and that they "cling to guns and religion" then he regrets it.

"Obviously, if I worded things in a way that made people offended, I deeply regret that," Obama said in an interview with the Winston-Salem Journal, according to a transcript provided by his campaign.

"The underlying truth of what I said remains, which is simply that people who have seen their way of life upended because of economic distress are frustrated and rightfully so," he told the North Carolina newspaper. "And I hear it all the time when I visit these communities."

Earlier in the day, Obama told an audience at a town hall meeting in Muncie, Indiana that he didn't word his comments "as well as he should have," but did not go as far as using the word "regret."

Obama first made the comments Sunday at a closed-press fundraiser in San Francisco.

Update with statement from McCain spokesperson Tucker Bounds:

“Voters will reject his so-called truths that he still stands by. His remarks were false. The importance of our Second Amendment and our country’s longstanding history with faith and spirituality are born in history, not bitterness and frustration. His view is absolutely restricted by elitism.”

[autigeremt 6,652]

May the TRUTH.............

SET YOU FREE!

[AURaptor 1,125]

Iraq quagmire, ( quagmire ? We're winning ) AQ strongest since 9/11 ( based on what intel ? ) and UBL still roams, Iran stronger ( how so ? ) , N Korea, stronger, ( how so ? ) No Energy Solutions, Record Healthcare costs and record unisured ( How are those tied to the Executive Branch ? ) , Record budget deficits ( not in comparison to GDP ) , No Immigration solutions, SS insolvent ( Bush is the only one who TRIED to solve SSI, Congress balked ) , Medicare unsustainable....shall I continue? ( Yeah, you should continue, because nothing you've shown reflects poorly on Bush's policies. )

It would probably be easier for you just to tell us one problem Bush has actually solved in 8 years. Failed policies is a pretty generous description IYAM. ( Seems to me he solved the problem of replacing 2 U.S. Supreme Court Justices very well , lowering taxes, stimulating the economy, winning the war against Islamic Jihadist, Captured tried and convicted Saddam Hussein, ..... )

[Auburn85 432]

i would be interested in knowing how Bush personally caused record Healthcare costs and record unisured.

Obesity played a factor in this? no?

Diabetes

Poor lifestyle choices?

Sure, people get cancer, die in wrecks, ect.

But Bush is responsible for higher healthcare costs?

[AURaptor 1,125]

But Bush is responsible for higher healthcare costs?

Remember, it was Bush ( actually Cheney's ) energy policy which has caused global warming to accelerate and made hurricane Katrina a Cat. 5 storm.

[arnaldoabru 11]

But Bush is responsible for higher healthcare costs?

Remember, it was Bush ( actually Cheney's ) energy policy which has caused global warming to accelerate and made hurricane Katrina a Cat. 5 storm.

It may be Cheney's energy policy that has helped bring 4.00 a gallon gasoline. But, we may never know since those meetings with the policy makers(oil companies) may never see the light of day.

[Tigermike 3,041]

But Bush is responsible for higher healthcare costs?

Remember, it was Bush ( actually Cheney's ) energy policy which has caused global warming to accelerate and made hurricane Katrina a Cat. 5 storm.

It may be Cheney's energy policy that has helped bring 4.00 a gallon gasoline. But, we may never know since those meetings with the policy makers(oil companies) may never see the light of day.

Bottomfeeder, Bottomfeeder, is that you?

[arnaldoabru 11]

Didn't they have to move it to a smaller venue because they could not sell enough tickets?

[AURaptor 1,125]

It may be Cheney's energy policy that has helped bring 4.00 a gallon gasoline. But, we may never know since those meetings with the policy makers(oil companies) may never see the light of day.

Blame Clinton and Congress.

[Auburn85 432]

another closed door fundraiser?! say it ain't so

this one is from 07

*edit

forgot to give link. i guess i'm getting too old

http://cbs2.com/local/Barack.Obama.George.2.528237.html

Barack Obama Dazzles Hollywood

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Checks from Hollywood's A-list stars such as George Clooney, Eddie Murphy and Barbra Streisand added up to a one-night take of $1.3 million for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, who earlier Tuesday urged an audience of thousands at an outdoor rally to help him transform America.

Addressing a racially mixed crowd at a South Los Angeles park during the day, Obama talked of a government that is failing the country and a slash-and-burn political culture that stands in the way of significant change.

But with the support of the electorate, he added, he could work to resolve such issues as an unpopular war in Iraq and a public education system that he said leaves too many people behind.

"We can do all these things. I can't do it without you," Obama, sans tie and in shirtsleeves, exhorted the audience as supporters enthusiastically waved a sea of blue "Obama '08" signs.

The crowd, numbering in the thousands, was strikingly large for a rally a year before the state's expected February 2008 primary.

Afterward, Obama spoke to a star-studded audience at a closed-door fundraiser in Beverly Hills arranged by three of the industry's biggest names -- DreamWorks studio founders Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen. He pulled in $1.3 million.

He told an audience that included Spielberg, Oscar nominee Eddie Murphy, actress Jennifer Anniston and singer Jackson Browne that they have "enormous power" that comes with "enormous responsibility" because of their impact on American culture.

"Don't sell yourselves short," he said in a 25-minute address. "You are the storytellers of our age."

Tickets were $2,300, the maximum individual donation to a federal campaign, or $4,600 for a couple. A later, private dinner at Geffen's home is being held for fundraisers who brought in at least $46,000 for the evening.

The day took Obama to widely contrasting places, although they were just miles apart. At the outdoor rally he talked at length of the struggles of common Americans, then later addressed a crowd of celebrities at a luxury hotel.

At the park, where admission was free, William Gude of Long Beach said Obama's appeal came from his outside-the-Beltway ideas and opposition to the Iraq war.

"The people with the most experience are the people who got us into this mess. Along with everybody else, I'm ready for a change," the 32-year-old personal trainer said.

"I can't take another Bush or Clinton," he added.

The fundraiser underscored the intense competition among the party's leading 2008 candidates for Hollywood dollars and endorsements. The entertainment industry is a perennial source of cash for Democrats, with big names often donating to multiple campaigns while withholding formal endorsements until later.

Spielberg, for example, is a host of the event but has not made an endorsement. Katzenberg and Geffen are backing Obama.

The movie, television and recording industries gave $33.1 million to federal candidates and parties in 2004, with much of that coming from Hollywood, according to the nonprofit Center for Responsive Politics.

Obama's display of celebrity sizzle and campaign dollars challenges any assumptions that Hollywood dollars would default to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., who has longstanding ties to the industry, along with her husband, former President Clinton.

"I think this guy is for real," said longtime Democratic consultant Garry South, who is unaligned in the 2008 race. "I was skeptical at first, but something is going on here. ... Whether it can sustain itself remains to be seen."

Before the closed-door fundraiser, the Illinois senator was scheduled to speak to a crowd, potentially numbering in the thousands, at a public rally in Los Angeles.

Clinton will be pulling in Hollywood dollars next month, when a fundraiser is scheduled at the home of supermarket tycoon Ronald Burkle, a longtime friend and fundraiser for her husband.

In addition to money, the state has taken on new importance in presidential politics with lawmakers poised to move its primary to Feb. 5 from June.

Among other candidates, Republican Rudy Giuliani was in the state earlier this month. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is planning to appear Wednesday with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Los Angeles area to discuss climate change.

Obama was on a three-day swing through California, his first since announcing his candidacy. He also held a fundraiser in San Diego's upscale La Jolla section.

Beside the celebrity giving, checks have come in from studio bosses, including Paramount Pictures studio chief Brad Grey; Richard Cook, chairman of Walt Disney Studios, and Ron Meyer of Universal Studios.

i guess as long as it's not behind closed door with bush it's ok?

[Auburn85 432]

ok, i admit i was holding one back. i was hoping someone would respond to the post earlier. oh well.

http://www.newsobserver.com/948/story/604973.html

CHAPEL HILL - Ka-ching. That's the sound of presidential politics in North Carolina.

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama was in Chapel Hill Thursday night, but unless you forked over $1,000 you probably didn't know it.

Obama made no public appearances. His campaign said he was giving no interviews and was not making him available for photographs. Reporters and photographers were kept beyond shouting distance when Obama arrived in Durham on Thursday afternoon for a private meeting with local political leaders.

Like a number of presidential candidates, Obama is using North Carolina as a political ATM to withdraw money to be spent in key primary and caucus states such as Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

North Carolina voters are largely being ignored because the state holds its presidential primary in May, usually long after the Democrats and Republicans have nominated their candidates.

In the general election, North Carolina has been a reliably Republican state for decades.

"It's just our money. That is all they care about," said Ted Arrington, a political expert at UNC-Charlotte.

Below-the-radar visits such as the one Obama made to the Triangle are becoming more common. In April, Obama held a closed fundraiser in Charlotte with no public appearances. Both of New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's appearances in North Carolina were at private fundraisers in the Charlotte area.

Most of the events by Republican candidates have also been private fundraisers -- from Sen. John McCain's event in Charlotte in March to a Greensboro fundraiser for former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani in April. Giuliani did make a speech to a conservative conference in Raleigh.

Obama was expected to raise more than $100,000 Thursday at the Chapel Hill home of Steve Lerner, a 52-year-old investor active in Democratic politics.

Among the sponsors of the event -- at $2,300 per person -- were Cary computer software executive John Sall, Raleigh public relations executive Ken Eudy and Durham jazz saxophonist Branford Marsalis.

Before the fundraiser, Obama met privately in Durham with local Democratic leaders, including state Sen. Floyd McKissick Jr. of Durham and state Rep. Ty Harrell of Raleigh, who became the first Tar Heel public official to endorse Obama.

"I like his bipartisan approach and his take on things," Harrell said. "We have to work together to get healthy solutions. That is my approach toward campaigning and governing that transcends the partisan bickering that goes on."

A sound strategy

It used to be that when a presidential candidate hit town, he wanted to make sure his face appeared on the nightly newscast and in the morning newspaper. But Arrington said candidates now often try to stay out of sight during fundraising visits because public appearances devalue the fundraiser.

If you can see a candidate at a rally for free or hear what he says on TV, why ante up $1,000 to hear the candidate's stump speech in someone's living room?

The only major presidential hopeful who has had several public appearances in North Carolina is former Sen. John Edwards, who lives in Chapel Hill.

Edwards has dominated the presidential money chase in North Carolina.

He raised $1.4 million from state residents during the first three months of the year -- more than twice as much as all other presidential candidates, Democrats and Republicans, combined.

While Edwards leads the state among Democrats, recent polls suggest that both Obama and Clinton are competitive in North Carolina.

But Obama is attracting some interest.

Among those taking a look at Obama is former Raleigh City Councilman Brad Thompson, who was Edwards' Senate state director.

"Though I have tremendous respect and feel very good about what Senator Edwards stands for," Thompson said, "I believe that Obama brings a perspective that needs to be heard."

Bruce Lightner of Raleigh, a veteran of several presidential campaigns, said Obama is attracting a large number of people who are new to politics.

"They are a mixture of professionals -- some housewives, some school teachers," he said. "It's multiracial. It has a flavor that I never saw before in a presidential campaign."