US President Barack Obama said on Thursday that gay marriage is a “logical” milestone towards a fairer US, as he was feted at a Hollywood fundraiser tipped to make US$15 million.
In a Tinseltown love-in at George Clooney’s Hollywood Hills home, the US president praised his host’s support for liberal causes, but also gently teased the A-list actor and Democrat supporter.
“Yesterday we made some news,” he joked about his public endorsement of gay marriage on Wednesday. “The truth is, it was a logical extension of what America’s supposed to be ... Are we a country that includes everybody?”
“Does that make us stronger? I believe it does,” he said to applause at the dinner in a party tent on Clooney’s basketball court, beneath the trees of the wooded hillside property.
Dubbed “Starmageddon,” the event at the Oscar-winning star’s mansion, which united Hollywood glitz and Washington power, was aimed at swelling Obama’s campaign coffers six months before he asks voters for a second term.
Around 150 well-heeled guests paid US$40,000 a ticket to get into the exclusive soiree, the latest in a string of big money events as Obama builds an expensive campaign machine for his re-election and buys top dollar advertising slots.
The Obama campaign also conducted a draw for tickets, asking less wealthy supporters for contributions of at least US$3 for a chance to chow down with the star of Ocean’s Eleven and the leader of the free world.
DreamWorks Animation chief Jeffrey Katzenberg, who organized the fundraiser, introduced Obama after remarks by Clooney, and recalled Obama’s 2008 campaign slogan “Yes we can.”
He continued: “Yes, we have. Yesterday he did the right thing yet again,” — sparking renewed cheers. Katzenberg was also overheard saying the fundraiser was set to make “close” to US$15 million.
Obama paid tribute to Clooney in remarks at the start of the evening, saying: “We raised a lot of money because everybody loves George. They like me, they love him. And rightfully so.”
Referring to the iconic Hope poster from 2008 by Shepard Fairey, he said: “People don’t realize that the photograph of me is actually me sitting next to George,” who was advocating on behalf of Darfur.
“We struck up a friendship. This is the first time that George Clooney has actually been photoshopped out of a picture,” he quipped.
In fact, Fairey did a poster for Clooney with both men on the same picture, Obama revealed.
“Why he said at the bottom, ‘Dope and Hope,’ I don’t know,” he joked.
The guest list included A-listers from Barbra Streisand and Robert Downey to Jack Black, Billy Crystal and Salma Hayek, and fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg.
Obama’s decision to publicly endorse gay marriage has electrified his liberal base and restored some of the transformative luster that had dimmed since his 2008 campaign.
“Pretty darn happy today. Thanks Mr President, for supporting the dignity of my family and so many others!” actress Jane Lynch of hit TV series Glee said on her Twitter feed.
Hollywood is a traditional source of funding and adulation for Democratic presidents, though there have been persistent reports that Tinseltown feels it has not been feeling sufficient love from Obama.
CONFRONTATION: The water cannon attack was the second this month on the Philippine supply boat ‘Unaizah May 4,’ after an incident on March 5 The China Coast Guard yesterday morning blocked a Philippine supply vessel and damaged it with water cannons near a reef off the Southeast Asian country, the Philippines said. The Philippine military released video of what it said was a nearly hour-long attack off the Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙) in the contested South China Sea, where Chinese ships have unleashed water cannons and collided with Philippine vessels in similar standoffs in the past few months. The China Coast Guard and other vessels “once again harassed, blocked, deployed water cannons, and executed dangerous maneuvers” against a routine rotation and resupply mission to
GLOBAL COMBAT AIR PROGRAM: The potential purchasers would be limited to the 15 nations with which Tokyo has signed defense partnership and equipment transfer deals Japan’s Cabinet yesterday approved a plan to sell future next-generation fighter jets that it is developing with the UK and Italy to other nations, in the latest move away from the country’s post-World War II pacifist principles. The contentious decision to allow international arms sales is expected to help secure Japan’s role in the joint fighter jet project, and is part of a move to build up the Japanese arms industry and bolster its role in global security. The Cabinet also endorsed a revision to Japan’s arms equipment and technology transfer guidelines to allow coproduced lethal weapons to be sold to nations
‘POLITICAL EARTHQUAKE’: Leo Varadkar said he was ‘no longer the best person’ to lead the nation and was stepping down for political, as well as personal, reasons Leo Varadkar on Wednesday announced that he was stepping down as Ireland’s prime minister and leader of the Fine Gael party in the governing coalition, citing “personal and political” reasons. Pundits called the surprise move, just 10 weeks before Ireland holds European Parliament and local elections, a “political earthquake.” A general election has to be held within a year. Irish Deputy Prime Minister Micheal Martin, leader of Fianna Fail, the main coalition partner, said Varadkar’s announcement was “unexpected,” but added that he expected the government to run its full term. An emotional Varadkar, who is in his second stint as prime minister and at
Thousands of devotees, some in a state of trance, gathered at a Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Bangkok renowned for sacred tattoos known as Sak Yant, paying their respects to a revered monk who mastered the practice and seeking purification. The gathering at Wat Bang Phra Buddhist temple is part of a Thai Wai Khru ritual in which devotees pay homage to Luang Phor Pern, the temple’s formal abbot, who died in 2002. He had a reputation for refining and popularizing the temple’s Sak Yant tattoo style. The idea that tattoos confer magical powers has existed in many parts of Asia