Political Punch
Power, pop, and probings from ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper

« Previous | Main | Next »

Obama 'Almost Speechless' Thanking Donors in Chicago

December 04, 2008 10:31 PM

On the same day that his campaign reported they had raised roughly $745 million over the course of the campaign, President-elect Barack Obama Thursday night was nearly at a loss for words as he thanked donors for helping him win last month's election.

“I’m almost speechless here, which I don’t usually get, because this is really a tapestry of our lives,” he told approximately 100 members of the Illinois and national finance committees gathered at a private Chicago club.

Earlier Thursday, the Obama campaign reported raising just over $100 million from Oct. 16 – Nov. 24, bringing their total for the campaign to a record setting $745 million, more than $400 million more than his rival, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., had to spend, not including party funds. 

“I just want you to know that all of you had more to do with us being successful than just raising money,” said Obama, accompanied by his wife Michelle. “You helped shape Michelle and myself. Many of you have been part of our children’s lives. Many of you have helped to support us, through thick and through thin. And so I’m just very grateful to all of you.”

“We didn’t just win, but we ran and won in the right way,” he told them.

But Obama cautioned his hometown crowd that now is when the hard work begins.

“Now we’ve got a lot of work to do and I don’t want to sugar-coat the amount of work there is to be done,” he said at the Standard Club, just blocks away from his transition headquarters.

“This is not goodbye,” he noted. “This is the start. This is not the end. This is just the beginning.”

The President-elect’s remarks came during the brief portion of the closed event that a print pool reporter was allowed to cover. Obama for America paid for the food and drink and no admission fee was charged to the guests, who had all received invitations.

“This is a gathering of friends and we wanted to do it precisely because all of you are friends,” Obama said. “You know, in politics, often times you say folks are friends when what you really mean is they supported you – and sometimes only after it became apparent you were winning. In this case, it’s absolutely true.”

“I could not have asked for better leadership,” he told a crowd that included Penny Pritzker, the chairwoman of his national finance committee, and John Rogers and James Crown, members of his Illinois finance committee.

In his introduction, Crown reminisced about the early days of the President-elect’s quest for the Oval Office, specifically a gathering in his living room the weekend Obama announced his campaign in February 2007.

“I think at that moment we might have had 50 percent of all the people in the country that believed this could happen,” he recalled, noting that at the time it felt “awkward” and “silly” to call Obama the nation’s next president.

“Early investors, the ones that get in on the ground floor, are entitled to superior returns and I want you to know that you’ve been getting them,” Crown pointed out to the guests. 

-- Jake Tapper and Matt Jaffe

December 4, 2008 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (19)

User Comments

Feed You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.

So, do you think he'll get people to make him President of the World (Daniela) BEFORE he's actually President of the United States and shows what he's capable of? He's got just over a month, that should be easy for him.

And almost speechless? I'd wager once really in office, he will be speechless when it comes to the little guys who ALLEGEDLY gave him most of the money.

But not toward his private club crowd, oh definitely not them.

Posted by: Laughing Cynic | Dec 5, 2008 6:57:51 PM

President-elect and Mrs. Obama continue to be magnanimous and gracious in every respect. I'm still pinching myself that the great citizens of this country were smart enough to elect this man as President of the U.S. and, really, the world.

Did I drink the Kool-aid? Damn straight, and I couldn't be more pleased with the result.

Godspeed President-elect and Mrs. Obama.

Posted by: Daniela in Phoenix | Dec 5, 2008 6:10:53 PM

Now them clowns that make junk cars will want payback on the backs of American tax payers.

Posted by: levit | Dec 5, 2008 5:27:18 PM

The Crown family was powerful enough to dead end the McClellan investigation into the overpriced General Dynamics TFX contract in 1963 that cost Navy Sec'ty Fred Korth his job....and to plant Henry Crown's personal attorney, Alebert E. Jenner on the Warren Commission to insure that the man who benefited the most from JFK's death, would escape scrutiny....look it up. Last August, it was revealed vis AP FOIA requests of FBI records, that Gerald Ford "fed" FBI #3, DeLoach, the 12/15/63 info that Albert Jenner was being placed on the Warren Commission. SFgate ran a 1996 article outlining this fact, and how Henry Crown was exposed financially, until the news from Dallas came on 11/22/63....

Posted by: host | Dec 5, 2008 3:12:28 PM

I was there. You neglect to reproduce Jim Crown's next sentence: he said that the "early investors"' great return was that every day when we wake up and see the good work Barack is doing, we can feel great about having played a special and important part in making it happen. That's our big return on investment. The meaning was the opposite of what the truncated quotation seems to suggest.

Posted by: 45rpm | Dec 5, 2008 10:55:49 AM

U.S. Presidency sold to the highest bidder.

Posted by: jim 234 | Dec 5, 2008 5:37:41 AM

Jake, when will you and other journalists start to speak truth to power?

"“Early investors, the ones that get in on the ground floor, are entitled to superior returns and I want you to know that you’ve been getting them,” Crown pointed out to the guests."

I suggest you search this term to begin to understand:
"Obama is the newest, open protection for these Chicago thugs, no different, really, than planting their personal attorney, Jenner, on the Warren Commission....."

Posted by: host | Dec 5, 2008 3:16:30 AM

seah
Re:'He should be ashamed of himself.
All those poor people who donate to him. Whom he promised to help and now makes excuses as to why he can't. Wasting money when so many have it so bad.'

sounds more like your speaking about 'the church' in it's various denominations but esp. the fundamentalist and catholic sects.....

Posted by: Blue | Dec 5, 2008 2:19:15 AM

I gave him $5.00. I bet a bazillion other people who have hope for the future did, too.

Posted by: KC | Dec 5, 2008 1:59:27 AM

He should be ashamed of himself.

All those poor people who donate to him. Whom he promised to help and now makes excuses as to why he can't.

Wasting money when so many have it so bad. Blowing money on stupid stuff like, 700,000 in Germany for lighting, and other things.

Laundering money from Rezko and friends 260,000 of it.

Receiving money from out of the country and foreigners non citizens.

Paying ACORN 800,000.

No morals, no Scruples, no conscious, Just Greed for money and power.

Being a Candidate for a Public Office, he should have to declare and make public where every penny came from and where every penny went. Before altering such records.

Over $745 million to buy a Presidency.

Future Candidates will have to take that into consideration.

Posted by: seah | Dec 5, 2008 1:26:54 AM

Brilliant campaign, and an even more brilliant leader! All of those with dissenting voices need to check their patriotism meters.

When I criticized president Bush for his flawed leadership, my father an African American patriot told me although I may not like the man, as an American, I must always respect the office. I pass on these words of wisdom to those who did not vote for the 44th President Elect and have hard feelings about the loss of their candidate.

Move on people or move out of the way.

Posted by: clarity | Dec 5, 2008 1:19:45 AM

Praying for relief for all those who're so jaded they can't yet see - or trust - that things really are changing.

Look for flaw and you'll find them - in us all, yourself included.

But look for good works and you'll find those too.

Lay down your swords and shields long enough to pitch in and lend a hand with a neighbor, and join in the job of building the kind of nation we all want to leave our children.

Posted by: Lissa Boles | Dec 5, 2008 12:16:02 AM

Where's the list of donors?; Oh I forgot he doesn't have to disclose that because he didn't partake in public financing.

Posted by: PB | Dec 5, 2008 12:11:45 AM

God forbid any "journalist" actually look into what percentage of this money was received by way of the Obama campaign's decision to disable the mechanism, when receiving money via credit card, to check on the actual identity of the donor. Wouldn't that be a fascinating thing, to actually read about an American "journalist" who takes the time to investigate the quite obvious blatant corruption of Barack Obama's campaign, by the way in which it subverted the standard practice of vouching for the true identity of donors?!

Also, remember this is money collected on behalf of the candidate who lied about his commitment to public financing. Just imagine if John McCain had collected this much money, had promised to adhere to public financing laws and then disavowed his commitment, and had collected that much money by way of the disabled credit card mechanism. Every mainstream media "journalist" imaginable would have been researching and reporting every detail of it for weeks now.

The way in which our mainstream media sold its soul on behalf of Barack Obama's election victory, is the most unconscionable collective injustice in the history of the 4th estate.

Posted by: Thank God for Karma | Dec 4, 2008 11:42:01 PM

Everyone knows that these weren't individuals giving $ right? He may be speechless, but as soon as those donors start knocking at his door for payback, be better be prepared to wright a check. That's how it works here. Does anyone think business is just giving their money away?

Posted by: LaKronc | Dec 4, 2008 11:26:57 PM

Wonder how Tony Rezko and all the fake website donors (Doodad Pro, Good Will, Della Ware) like their "superior returns"???

Posted by: bald eagle | Dec 4, 2008 11:07:58 PM

Mr. President Elect, may the Lord continue to bless you and direct your every step. Peace be with you.

Posted by: GB | Dec 4, 2008 11:00:58 PM

Obama 2012"

Posted by: Levi | Dec 4, 2008 10:53:15 PM

YES..... This is just the beginning !!!

Posted by: Levi | Dec 4, 2008 10:52:44 PM

Post a comment





 

POLITICAL VIDEOS