After Obama’s attempt to reassure the public about the economic recovery fell flat Thursday, he jetted off to a celebrity fundraiser in Manhattan hosted by Anna Wintour and Sarah Jessica Parker — and the contrast could not have been more tone-deaf. As AP reports, Obama seemed to temporarily abandon his middle class warrior routine, telling the $40,000-a-plate dinner guests that they were the “ultimate arbiter” of the country’s future:
Speaking in a dimly lighted, art-filled room, Obama told supporters they would play a critical role in an election that would determine a vision for the nation’s future.
“You’re the tie-breaker,” he said. “You’re the ultimate arbiter of which direction this country goes.”
Among the celebrities on hand to hear Obama’s remarks were Oscar winner Meryl Streep, fashion designer Michael Kors and Vogue editor Anna Wintour, who moderated a private question-and-answer session between the president and the guests. Broderick, who was starring in a Broadway musical, was absent.
As a gesture of egalitarianism, there was one non-paying, no-name guest who had won a $3 Obama campaign raffle and was able to attend the fundraiser as a “prize” (how benevolent of the campaign).
The celebrity hostesses also reportedly promoted the Obama campaign’s Runway to Win line, a collection of t-shirts and tote bags “designed” by celebrities and fashion designers and sold on Obama’s campaign site. The products are as awful as you can imagine. Would Anna Wintour ever let her skin touch this monstrosity designed by Beyonce? Or this mess (allegedly) designed by Prabal Gurung? Unlikely. But for $45-and-up, brand-obsessed Obama fans can look like they just bought a t-shirt sewn by a Chinese child laborer from the back of an unlicensed D.C. souvenir truck.
It’s hard to be too harsh on Obama about the dinner. He’s a politician, and they all have to fundraise. But this particular dinner was so ostentatious — from the guest list, to the ticket price, to the advertising campaign — that it likely grated on the public’s nerves in a way that typical fundraisers don’t. Obama’s own star power has faded significantly since 2008, and it made the dinner party seem sadder and tackier than it would have four years ago — like a middle-aged person trying just a little too hard to hold onto his youth.
Bang on, Alana Goodman. n nI don't call him a feckless, tone deaf functionary addicted to other people's money, surrounded by sycophants, and enamored of failed policies, all the while whistling Cloward–Piven's greatest hits on the golf course as his wife vacations to exotic locales around the globe, for nothing.
Ouch, but that was nice. POTUS (Pander of the United States). He needs to give himself to science, so that he can clone a couple more heads he needs to shimmy up the rears of the gays, Latinos, and the big pockets who call themselves liberals.
Ultimate arbiter. Mm hm. Setting aside the offensiveness, first off you'd think even he and his teleprompter might have self-edited that out as unbelievable uber-hyperbole even for a politician. But considering the overpowering stench of smug self-regard in that room — not to mention the cash changing hands — it was likely judged as required. Secondly, unless he was overheard saying "You're the ultimate arbiter…" while he be choomin' out back the event with Anna "You-would-not-BELIEVE-how-much-this-face-cost" Wintour alone the world's greatest orator blew the singular/plural. He's a freakin' president, fer cryin' out loud. He should know basic grammar. Maybe he couldn't see the room full of people through the cloud of choom. And so there's more than a little circumstantial evidence that he and his teleprompter have only a tenuous grasp on what "ultimate arbiter" actually means. Since these people ran out of their benefit-of-the-doubt allowance years ago, and since I once knew an actual editor who ran a story even after I pointed out he'd misused 'penultimate', I'll go with this as an example of the usual Obama mix of insensitivity and ignorance — this time with a dash of Celebrity Bowling for Dollars.
The entire Hollywood crew including stars, producers, below the line workers, publicists, cgi experts–everything and everybody–should relocate to Bangkok along with the United Nations. They all despise the Great American Experiment and work like termites for its failure all the while enjoying the benefits of our blood-bought Liberty without the least sense of appreciation let alone responsibility. Despicable people and Obama is their leader. Good riddance to one and all.