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Four Months After 'Bitter'-gate, Obama Returns to San Fran for Huge Money Haul*

August 17, 2008 11:12 PM

SAN FRANCISCO –- Four months after his infamous remarks about small town Pennsylvanians made at a San Francisco fundraiser, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., returned to the City by the Bay to dive for gold. 

And he found it. According to John Roos, an Obama fundraiser, Sunday night's events brought $7.8 million into the coffers of the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee.

The Fairmont Hotel was location of the treasure for this visit, with three stops on the docket.

Obama’s first stop was a conference room with roughly 60 South Asian donors, each paying $2,300 apiece to his campaign.

There he was introduced by eBay cofounder Steve Westly, and Silicon Valley investor Kamil Hasan –- a former supporter of Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., national co-chair of the Asian Americans for Obama finance committee and an at-large member of the Democratic National Committee.

Obama told the crowd about his Pakistani roommate at Occidental College joining with several Indian-American friends.

"Indians and Pakistanis had come together under one room to cause havoc in the university," joked the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. "I won’t go into details of some of our activities."

He added, more seriously, that he has "an enormous personal affection for the peoples of South Asia. ... The future of America is built on the strength of immigrant communities who are going to come here and invest and learn and teach and create new businesses and new technologies and create linkages with these enormous emerging markets all around the world."

Obama warned the crowd that the race from here until Election Day "is going to be difficult. Change is always tough. And electing me is change. It means that people are going to hesitate a little bit. Ba-rack O-bama. They’re still getting past that name. But it’s a testament to the American spirit that I’m even standing before you as the Democratic nominee."

After that East Asian appetizer, Obama was on to the main course in the main ballroom, where approximately 350 "VIPs" had paid $28,500 per couple to the joint Obama campaign-Democratic National Committee Victory Fund.

Westly told the San Francisco Chronicle that tonight’s event would be "a historic fundraiser, one of the largest in San Francisco ever -- if not California. We're very proud of what Sen. Obama's doing tonight. This month, we've gotten 65,000 new donors ... and now we're going to take it to a whole new level."

Introduced by another former Clinton backer -- Thomas M. Steyer, founder of Farillon Capital Management -– Obama told the crowd that he knew the attacks from the campaign of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., were tough, but unlike previous nominees, he would respond.

"Democrats because we’ve burned in the last few elections, get nervous and skittish right around this time," Obama said. "They say, ‘Oh no, here the Republicans come -- they’re so mean and they’re going to be doing all these things. Obama is a funny name and who knows what they’re going to do.’

"Keep your stress to a minimum," Obama tried to reassure the crowd.

At a third event -- one where he was introduced by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who called him “a leader that God has blessed us with at this time" -- Obama reassured the crowd of roughly 1,300, “I will win. Don’t worry about that."

“Now, you want to win. And saying it doesn’t make it so,” Obama said. “It would be nice to think that after eight years of economic disaster, after eight years of bungled foreign policy, of being engaged in a war that should never have been authorized and should never have been waged, that cost us a trillion dollars and thousands of lives, that people would say, 'Let’s toss the bums out. Toss the bums out, we’re starting from scratch, we’re starting over. This is not working.'

“So I understand why a lot of folks are saying, 'This should just happen. Why are we having to run all these television commercials? Why do we have to raise all this money? Just read the papers. These are the knuckleheads who have been in charge. Throw ‘em out.'

"But American politics aren’t that simple," he said. “The fact of the matter is, at a certain point, when government has not been serving the people for this long, people get cynical. They tune out. And they start saying to themselves, a plague on both your houses. They are willing to consume negative information more frequently than positive information, for good reason. They’ve seen how promises haven’t been kept.”

Obama warned the crowd that his opponents have "got a whole machinery that they’re cranking out. They’ve got a book about me, that just kind of sprung full bore out of this guy’s head. John McCain, all he wants to do is talk about me. They know they can’t win on the issues. So what they’ll do is they’ll try to scare people. 'He’s risky. He’s risky. We’re not sure.'

Obama said he would push back.

"Not only do you have a candidate who doesn’t take any guff. Not only do you have a candidate who will hit back swiftly and forcefully and truthfully," he said, "but you’ve also got American people who are rising up all over the country and saying, 'Enough is enough.'”

His remarks were better received than the ones he gave a few months ago out here.

In April, Obama told the crowd at a fundraiser here that people in small town Pennsylvania, have "gone through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. So it's not surprising then that they get bitter, and they cling to guns, or religion, or antipathy toward people who aren't like them, or anti-immigrant sentiment, or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

But speaking of curious comments made in Frisco, last month, standing in this same hotel, McCain predicted, "I will compete, and I will win in the state of California."

A July 22 poll of 1,401 California voters by the Public Policy Institute of California had Obama beating McCain here 50 percent to 35 percent.

- jpt

* This post has been updated.

August 17, 2008 in Obama, Barack | Permalink | Share | User Comments (43)

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Sen. Obama is absolutely right: these knuckleheads have messed up everything they've touched, and it ought to be easy to toss them out on their ears. But cynicism has taken root, and people will inexplicably vote against their own self-interest--especially "independents," many of whom aren't so much "independent" as "uninformed."

Anyone who READS McCain's plan for our society should shudder. It's the same mean-spirited stuff his cronies have been doing for years: more tax breaks for millionaires [this is about all McCain "knows" about the economy], deadly slow progress on alternative energy production, MORE WAR, cuts in Medicare and SSI (hey, if you've got your mitts on a beer fortune who cares about those other poor saps, right?).

It should be simple to toss these guys out. But there are plenty of voices out there spouting greedy ME FIRST politics (check some of the posts above), usually in the form of personal attacks on Those Bad Democrats. Their influence should never be discounted. We got Bush last time because of voices like theirs, defending the indefensible. They might well give us McBush next time.

Four more years. Think about that for half a minute. Now don't go off and hang yourself. Take action. Get involved. That means YOU--the one always moaning from your couch about how bad these guys are but never taking steps to make them go away. This is America--we have the right to choose how our government behaves. Do things differently this time. Give some money, knock on doors for your candidate, talk to your friends. VOTE, and encourage others to VOTE. You'll be very proud of what you've accomplished, and you can look your kids in the eye and assure them you're watching out for their best interests. Finally.

Posted by: dennis | Aug 18, 2008 9:17:23 PM

You left out the part where he said there are some voters that are angry and confused. we are not bitter anymore? msnbc had the whole story

Posted by: Bishop | Aug 18, 2008 6:17:05 PM

The elitist Marxist Obama going before his millionaire anti-American friends who want to hold the people back!!

Posted by: spock | Aug 18, 2008 3:10:12 PM

Here you go again with SoetoroObama trying to play the race card. What a loser! First against Hillary and now McCain. I don't think people will have a hard time believing that SoetoroObama is a race baiter and the total media bias in favor of him since those charges have now come from both democrats and republicans.

Posted by: cspolj | Aug 18, 2008 1:26:47 PM

"I will win... why say that? Who is he trying to reassure? Pelosi is following into the messiah complex saying things like God has blessed us with Obama at this time. This kind of talk is what fuels blind idolization and hero worship.

Posted by: rafraf | Aug 18, 2008 12:22:56 PM

I say - THROW ALL THE KNUCKLEHEADS OUT -- ESPECIALLY PELOSI AND REID.

Posted by: Melanie | Aug 18, 2008 12:22:41 PM

Obama on Saturday Evening said he has learned through faith that it isn't "all about him".

Obama on Sunday -- "I will win". Seems to be all about him. The Dem's chosen one.

Posted by: susie | Aug 18, 2008 12:19:29 PM

What a hypocrite!!! Obama says McCain attacks him rather than talk about the issues? Obama is the one who has consistently promoted his 'star' status, rather than come up with substantive solutions to the issues, and he's the one who has avoided debates which McCain has continually proposed. Furthermore, McCain wiped the floor with Obama at Saddleback, by showing substance compared to style, which was the only thing Obama had to offer. The people in San Francisco must be brain dead, and Pelosi'ls statement 'a leader God has blessed us with at this time' makes me nauseous. The reason McCain characterizes Obama as 'risky' is because he is!!! In these challenging times, we don't need to elect a community organizer to President of the United States.

Posted by: Gina | Aug 18, 2008 12:05:13 PM

"I will win, don't worry about that"....WThell? Did Oprah promise him something....I wouldn't count on it, as her popularity numbers are down too, since her long ago endorsement.
The arrogance is audacious!
The Presidency can't be bought, although Obama has ads running in 18 states and McCain only 11...I hope that changes as we get closer to November.
HILLARY SUPPORER FOR McCAIN!

Posted by: Debra | Aug 18, 2008 11:57:37 AM

"...he was introduced by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who called him “a leader that God has blessed us with at this time" -- Obama reassured the crowd of roughly 1,300, “I will win. Don’t worry about that."

Does the left yet realize how much this kind of statement is not only fat headed, it creeps out the center? Claiming he is a 'blessing from God' is blasphemy, for one, and otherwise, a sales pitch straight out of Elmer Gantry.

Posted by: len | Aug 18, 2008 11:45:28 AM

“I will win. Don’t worry about that."
-----
Oh. Right. Wanna bet?

Posted by: Belle Starr | Aug 18, 2008 10:05:30 AM

When Gov Mike Dukakis ran, the Republicans dumped on his wife because she took legal drugs. I hope Obama nails Cindy McCain for STEALING ILLEGAL DRUGS!


I hope Obama gets nailed for his drug use!! Thats calling the kettle black!!

Posted by: dragonfly777 | Aug 18, 2008 9:06:31 AM

The Demos keep asking if we are worse off than we were 4 yrs ago. the answer is Deffinitely yes. only problem we are even much worse off than we were 2 years ago when the Demo's won the majority of Congressional seats. Since neither party has been able to turn this thing around. Who do we vote for?

Posted by: Josh Irvin | Aug 18, 2008 8:57:24 AM

Tell me the one again about how Obama's campaign is funded by mom and pop donations of under $100.

Posted by: marylou | Aug 18, 2008 8:44:12 AM

To me Phil Graham's statement that Americans are a bunch of whiners blew bitter gate out of the water. At least Obama was talking about a segment of the population the neo-cons was talking about the nation as a whole. I bet John McCain won't repent and get out of his adulterous marriage either. I guess to him his soul is not worth saving.
May be the neo-cons needs to focus on such biblical teachings like I Timothy
ch 6: 17-19 (Oil Companies)

Posted by: dems for the white house | Aug 18, 2008 7:40:12 AM

Yeah, Rachel. Dang! Some of my best friends is rural people.

Posted by: Valerie K. | Aug 18, 2008 5:38:18 AM

Ah, that ‘Bitter’ comment again. How often have you referenced the Republican slur ’San Francisco Liberals’, or even broader East and West Coast Liberals? Republicans repeatedly say these people do not represent ‘real America’, despite the fact that more people live on the coast than in Central America. Under Bush II, they even went so far as accusing them of being ‘traitors’.

Posted by: Willem van Oranje | Aug 18, 2008 5:31:48 AM

Yeah I remember Obama's nasty little comment about rural people and his knock on the Clinton administration, no wonder Bill's not eager to help him.

Posted by: rachel | Aug 18, 2008 4:50:17 AM

I would vote for John McCain in the coffin before i cast a vote for the lead by DIVISION Obama

Posted by: hammer time | Aug 18, 2008 3:46:15 AM

In John Bush McCain's book he talked about committing ADULTRY. Where is his church where HIS Jesus says it is OK to bang another woman while his own wife was in a hospital bed?
Great republican family values!!!

Posted by: joel | Aug 18, 2008 3:13:30 AM

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