Saturday, January 21, 2012

Obama's New York Marathon: How Many 1%-ers Can He Hit Up In One Night?

The answer, apparently, is plenty.  The New York Post reports on Barack Obama's shameless dash for cash among the cream of the economic crop:

Obama raced through the city on Thursday, appearing at two events at Upper East Side restaurant Daniel, then at a dinner for 40 at Spike Lee’s townhouse, followed by a fundraiser at the Apollo.

The media highlighted Obama's Apollo stop by airing footage of him singing (look! he likes to do the same things you rubes do!), but failed to report on this little goody:

A witness tells us Rangel “passed out” at his table at the Harlem venue’s “A Night to Remember” event and, “His wife Alma was shaking him to wake him during the president’s speech.”

The 11th commandment of the media: Never speak ill of a fellow liberal...


...nor mention the creepy, messianic merchandise being sold at the event...

Another stop had him meeting up with some billionaire Jews, who - living comfortably in their Manhattan penthouses -  no doubt agree with the president that a little adversity is just what Israel needs. But prior to that little get-together, Obama engaged in his second favorite pastime (after golf) - hobnobbing with celebrities:

Before the discussion, there was a private reception where Obama met with Harvey Weinstein and Showtime’s Matt Blank. Sources tell us Obama “congratulated [Weinstein] for Meryl Streep’s best actress win for ‘The Iron Lady’ at the Golden Globes.” Obama also congratulated Blank for “Homeland,” his network’s counter-terrorism thriller, which took the Golden Globe for best drama series.

And check out the haul:

The event, attended by up to 100, raised about $500,000 for Obama’s reelection campaign.

Who says the 1% have an outsized advantaged in today's society? The President, you say? Well, he should know...

Final celebrity sighting:

At Lee’s townhouse, guests included Mariah Carey, decked out in jewels, Nick Cannon, “Fela!” producer Edward Tyler Nahem, MWW CEO Michael Kempner and Bobbi Brown.

Presenting the future cause of  inner-city robberies, shootings, and tramplings....


Ah, the bejeweled royalty, playing host to the King, and awarding him with an "honorarium" of sorts, so that he remembers their gracious hospitality and support, and perhaps returns again to grace their halls once again.

You know, I don't envy these people, not a bit. I'm happy with what I have, as I have earned every meager bit of it. Nor do I deny a politician his right to fund-raise, and I do not profess shock that he goes where the money is, Willie Sutton-style.

But I am revolted by the brazen hypocrisy of a president who relishes the opportunity to rub elbows with, and take the money of, the people he labels "the 1% , then immediately turn around and publicly blame them for all that ails America. 

If they are that horrible, Mr. President, stay away from them, and don't take their money.  $500K from 100 people is vulgar enough, but taking it from folks you hate in order to destroy them is more morally ugly than tactically brilliant, isn't it?  Are you simply not man enough to look them in their eyes and tell them why you loathe them so?  Or do you so desperately need their money that you are willing to whore yourself - and your nation - out, in order to get your hands on some of  it?

Or is it possible that this whole 1% rhetoric just a subterfuge, a lie, a way to bitterly divide the American people deeply enough so that you may squeak through with an election victory in 2012, and thus ensconce yourself and Michelle in the White House for four more years of living like feudal lords, while you denounce society's...feudal lords?

You can crawl all over Manhattan for cash as long as you want, Barack, and I won't fault you.  Just be honest about who your supporters are, and square it with your re-election campaign.  Because even the dimmest con-man knows that you can't keep running the same scam forever, the center simply will not hold, and sometimes you need to just collect your winnings and get out of town before the whole thing collapses on your head, and everything gained becomes lost...

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