Obama now pleading for money to fight Sarah Palin

Never shy about $eeking money, Democratic President Obama's Organizing for America is now using the threat of Republican Sarah Palin as an opportunity to acquire more.

It has just sent an e-mail out to its millions of supporters today pleading for urgent donations to fight the mother of five, now on her heavily-publicized, cross-country book promotion bus tour. She holds no political office currently; in fact, she's among America's unemployed, though doing quite well financially.

Perhaps you've heard a little something about Palin in recent days.

The former governor of Alaska has written a book called "Going Rogue" that details her experiences in last year's presidential campaign, her values and thoughts on various issues.

Some San Francisco bookstores are declining to sell the book. And no one really cares about her or the book, obviously (see photo above), because she only sold 300,000 copies the first day.

Some people (bipartisan) think (fear) she may become a candidate for the 2012 presidential election.

Since the Republican Party that chose her as its first female presidential ticket member last year has such a glaring national leadership vacuum these days, she's getting tons of publicity in her symbiotic hate-hate relationship with the media, which doesn't mind attracting crowds with her name either (see headline above).

Although the Democratic National Committee dismisses Palin as an ignorant non-factor, it's invested way more time and effort this week attacking Palin than selling Obama, who was on another overseas publicity trip of his own.

Attempting to use Palin as a lucrative opportunity, too, today's e-mail plaintively asks: "Please chip in $5 to help."

The committee says its goal is a half-mill in one week, chump change for the one-time senator's $750-million presidential campaign.

Today's electronic missive calls Palin "dangerous," blames (credits) her for the term "death panels," and says it needs the money to combat her lies (claims), which will be magnified in coming weeks by well-known complicit conservatives in the media.

The donation plea also warns ominously that "the rest of our opponents will likely parrot those attacks."

It says the money will be used for event organizing, advertising and funding calls to Congress in support of Obama's beleaguered healthcare legislation to counter "right-wing attack groups."

Naturally, Palin is also playing off of Palin's publicity. If you give $100 to her SARAHPac here by midday next Wednesday, she'll give you a free signed copy of "Going Rogue."

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: Indianapolis Star via Associated Press (Long lines of Palin book-buyers stretch around the entire mall parking lot in Noblesville, Ind.); Getty Images.

Mitt Romney talks about the economy, tea parties and the future of the Republican party

A few minutes before Mitt Romney spoke to conservative donors at a dinner hosted by the Young America's Foundation conference in Santa Barbara this month, he made a surprise appearance before a roomful of student attendees who had been squeezed out of the dinner due to lack of space.

"Hey, everybody!" he said. "Ho! Ho!"

The 200 or so young conservatives cheered. "You are a good American!" one young man shouted.

For a few minutes, the former Massachusetts governor bantered with the crowd with the ease of a stand-up comedian. He fielded questions about the economy -- "It will get better"  -- and the 2012 presidential election.

"Are you running?" someone asked.

Romney laughed. "I'm running up the stairs," he said.

Romney, who sought the Republican presidential nomination last year and lost to Arizona Sen. John McCain, is widely seen as a front runner in the race for the 2012 nomination. Although he hasn't announced his intentions, he spoke like a candidate at the conference, seeming eager to impress the deep-pocketed donors in attendance.

The Young America's Foundation aims to groom high school and college students to be future leaders by exposing them to the conservative philosophies that organizers say are missing from many classrooms. Last weekend's conference brought nearly 300 high school and college students to the Reagan Ranch Center, where the foundation is based, for a series of lectures.

A website tracking potential candidates for the 2012 presidential election reports that...

Fox News is evil -- unless you're selling an Obama book

Ah, the flexibility of politics. You gotta love it.

The Obama administration has in recent weeks picked a silly fight with the Fox News Channel to help keep impatient supporters on its own left from rebelling too much. If you've got a common enemy, you've got to stay together, right? Even if you're unhappy with the progressive progress on numerous Democratic fronts.

It's a silly fight for several reasons. It makes a president who must face down other nuclear powers look timorous and thin-skinned about something as inconsequential as the most popular U.S. cable news channel.

It ignores the fact that more than a third of Fox News viewers are Democrats. So the David Axelrod-Anita Dunn communications strategists are willfully forfeiting an opportunity to get their message out to millions more likely supporters.

And, worst, to pick and prolong a partisan fight with lowly D.C. journalists goes directly against the fundamental message that Barack Obama made a keynote of his $750-million holy campaign last year: changing the partisan tone in Washington once and for all. Change to believe in. No podemos si.

As a result, you haven't seen Obama administration officials interviewed much over there on Fox News, despite the invitations.

Come Thursday night, that won't change. That's because David Plouffe is not an official member of the Obama administration. He is, however, the single individual arguably most responsible for getting Obama into the White House.

Why will the Obama campaign manager appear, you might ask?

Because he wants to sell his book ("The Audacity to Win"), would be the answer. Which is apparently different than selling a political message. So Plouffe, who still loyally touts the official Obama line (he was nattering at Fox News again over the weekend on other outlets), has apparently received a presidential dispensation to appear on the evil empire.

Our diligent colleague Mark Silva, who broke this story, has much more detail here.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: David Plouffe. Credit: Associated Press

C-SPAN talks with Ken Auletta on new media vs. old

Word on the street has it that there's something out there now called new media that's going to somehow change society in unimaginable ways. Even politics, like Obama's $750-million campaign haul last year.

And this Internet Web thingy moves fast and doesn't need wires (How is that possible?). And somehow all this change threatens the old media that hadn't changed much since Johannes Gutenberg carved his first wooden letter of type about 600 years ago.

Well, that's all silly, of course. Traditional media has changed plenty; it doesn't use wooden type anymore, for one thing.

But Ken Auletta has gone ahead anyway and written another one of his intriguing looks at modern media. He wrote it in book form, though, one of those cursor-less collections of paper pages that you open by hand to read and then turn the pages to continue. Amazingly ancient. Called "Googled: The End of the World as We Know It."

So tonight, C-SPAN's Brian Lamb, who has talked very calmly with every author who's ever written a book since Gutenberg, interviews Auletta about what he found. It's pretty interesting, even without antacid commercials.

We're going to watch because we're addicted to Lamb.

So we obtained for Ticket readers a little sneak peek here of the interview. It will air on....

...the "Q&A" program at 5 and 8 p.m. Pacific tonight and again at 3 a.m. Pacific Monday. Set your TiVo, not the alarm.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Obama White House defends social invites to top donors. Yawn. At least Lincoln bedroom not in play

It must universal, the instinct in politics to reward friends.

Turns out that President Obama, who promised a more ethical approach to governance, has been rewarding friends with the perks of office.

According to the Washington Times, fundraisers have been promised access to senior White House officials if they donate $30,400 (the ceiling) personally or bundle $300,000 before the 2010 midterm elections.

The list of particulars a la the WT: One top donor got a birthday visit to the Oval Office. Another got to use the White House bowling alley for a family event. Obama invited his top New York bundler, UBS Americas Chairman and CEO Robert Wolf, to golf with him during his vacation to Martha's Vineyard. Oh, and at least 39 donors and fundraisers were invited to a White House reception on St. Patrick's Day.

As scandals go, this sounds like a yawn. After all, there were those heady days of yore, when the Clinton White House offered campaign donrs a night's sleep in the Lincoln Bedroom.

"Contributing does not guarantee a ticket to the White House, nor does it prohibit the contributor from visiting," said Dan Pfeiffer, deputy White House communications director. "Given that nearly 4 million Americans donated to the campaign, it's no surprise that some who contributed have visited the White House, as have grass-roots organizers who didn't contribute financial support and people who actively opposed the president's candidacy."

-- Johanna Neuman

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Photo: The Lincoln Bedroom. Credit: White House

Joe Biden update: Investing in a N.Y. congressman

As he has on many recent days, Vice President Joe Biden was talking at another Democratic fundraiser last night, this one at a private home in New York City.

It was to benefit Democratic Rep. Steve Israel, who doesn't represent New York City. Israel's 2nd District seat (once held by Republican Rick Lazio) covers much of Long Island. About 100 donors attended.

Some people might think the presence of the vice president of the United States at a Steve Israel fundraiser could have something to do with payback for Israel bowing to the White House suggestion five months ago that he probably really shouldn't pursue a political challenge to New York's appointed Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in a party primary next year.

That kind of bargain would be silly, of course. And political.

Biden spoke for about 30 minutes. The usual stuff about taking care of the middle class and what an awfully deep hole he and Barack Obama found the country in last January after their successful $750- million campaign. It's a terrible hole that will take a long time to exit, he said. Maybe two terms. Who knows?

Biden, who was already a senator learning to gaffe way back when Obama was a sixth-grader, also praised Israel, saying the five-term congressman didn't really need Biden's help.

Then, the vice president made a rather pointed and candid admission, even for modern America's moneyed politics. He told the crowd of insiders, each of whom had paid $2,400 to access the event:

I just want you to know that supporting him is a smart investment.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo credit: Joshua Roberts / Bloomberg News

Hello, Boston! Obama stumps for troubled pal, Gov. Deval Patrick, then on to help troubled Chris Dodd

(UPDATE: 5:14 p.m. A video news update on the president's campaigning in Connecticut has been added below.)

Why waste a trip to New England just on some simple public event talking about smart energy or whatever for the evening news cameras? (See news video below.)

Tack on a couple of evening fundraisers and divvy up the cost of Air Force One. President Obama returned to his student hangout of Cambridge, Mass., today -- this time to MIT.

But afterward he went to help raise $600,000 for embattled Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, who faces a reelection campaign next year but has current approval ratings right down there in Cheney-Bush territory. That seems like a lot of money to normal people, but ticket sales for the event were reportedly slow. And in politics it's Obama peanuts these days; he raised nearly $3 million at one Las Vegas stop.

Then, Obama was scheduled to do the same just to the south in Connecticut to help another embattled Democratic incumbent, Sen. Chris Dodd. Again, tour a small factory to get in something "official" and then on to the political fundraiser.

After having been in New Jersey this week (see link below), Obama next week goes off to Florida, and then he visits Virginia to help his party's gubernatorial candidate, Creigh Deeds.

Tonight the president recalls how Patrick was one of his early supporters, but when the Massachusetts citizen asked for Obama's gubernatorial campaign help, Obama frankly didn't think the guy had much of a chance. Thanks very much, Mr. President.

But they both won obviously. As he's taken to doing often now (see New Jersey transcript link below), Obama seeks to defuse local political unrest over the bad economy simply by acknowledging it and saying times are so bad that voters need to keep the official who's been presiding over the tough times. The political effectiveness of that argument depends heavily on the quality of the general election opponent.

Obama praised Patrick's character, diligence and for implementing a universal healthcare system in the Bay state, which was designed and passed under previous Republican Gov. Mitt Romney. But the Democratic president didn't have time to mention that part.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Remarks by President Obama at Patrick fundraiser, as provided by the White House

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, everybody!

AUDIENCE:  Hello!

THE PRESIDENT: Well, you hear a lot of politicians saying they're going to be quick -- (laughter) -- and then they go on and on. They say, "One last thing," "In conclusion."  Deval is a man of his word. (Laughter.) He says he's going to be quick and he's quick. (Laughter.) 

I am so thrilled to be here today with the Governor and Lieutenant Governor. And at the outset I just want to say -- tell people a little story -- I may have mentioned this to some other people before. I had just been elected to the United States Senate -- and when I first started running for the U.S. Senate not a lot of people knew me and, let's face it, none of you could pronounce my name. (Laughter.)  When I came to Boston to speak at the convention everybody said "Huh?" You know, "Why him?" and all those questions.

But I will tell you, Deval Patrick knew my name; in fact, he had supported me, one of my....

Obama scolds Wall Streeters, who paid $15,200 each to hear him, at Dem fundraiser (text, video)

President Obama went to New York on Tuesday to raise money for Democratic candidates. And since much of the money in the Big Apple resides on Wall Street, many in the audience at a $30,400-a-couple fundraising dinner last night make their living on the Street.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Chastising Wall Street executives for excessive bonuses and pushing for regulations of the financial sector  that many in the industry oppose, Obama drew nervous twitters (the verbal kind, not the social-networking kind) from the crowd when he said, “So if there are members of the financial industry in the audience today, I would ask that you join us in passing what are necessary reforms. Don’t fight them.”

Check out the text below, as provided by the White House. And of course, the video.

-- Johanna Neuman

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Obama campaigns for conservative Democrat

President Obama is finding a new version of bipartisanship, taking time out of his busy schedule to speak at a fundraiser for a New York congressional candidate who makes no secret of his more conservative leanings.

Obama’s appearance tonight is on behalf of Democratic candidate Bill Owens, who polls show is running slightly ahead of a more liberal Republican and an even more conservative opponent. All three are sparring in a special election for the congressional seat vacated when Obama named moderate Republican John M. McHugh to be secretary of the Army.

The congressional race has become of microcosm of the political confusions that are rumbling through the major political parties this year. Democrats are split between liberal and conservative wings that are finding it hard to fashion common ground on key issues such as healthcare reform. While Republicans, wanting to keep the energy of conservatives’ unhappiness, are having a hard time finding a place for the moderates they need for electoral success.

The 23rd Congressional District is deep in upstate New York near the Canadian border and includes Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties. It has sent only Republicans to Congress since around the Civil War. Tonight, Obama is expected to speak well of Owens, who opposes a robust public option in the healthcare reform debate. He also opposes same-sex marriage, which is backed by Republican Dierdre Scozzafava, a New York assemblywoman since 1998. She is also pro-abortion rights. Among her supporters is former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Complicating the picture is the Conservative Party, which has long outgrown its origin as a cat's-paw of the GOP to become the tail that often wags the feline, at least in New York politics.

On the conservative side, riding a wave of discontent with Democrats and moderate Republicans is Doug Hoffman, who opposes gay and abortion rights and sees himself as the true Republican, having gained the endorsement of the GOP right, including the Club for Growth, the Family Research Council Action PAC and even former House Majority Leader Dick Armey. How to deal with conservatives has become a key question for the national GOP after a summer of tea-party demonstrations and abrasive town hall meetings.

Because this is an off-year election, it is sure to be seized on as another straw in the wind for 2010.

– Michael Muskal

Obama's awkward fundraising dance with Wall Street [Updated]

Tonight President Obama turns into Democratic Fundraiser in Chief, attending two events in New York City that could rake in $2 million to $3 million for party coffers.

Amid a full plate of contentious policy issues, some are asking whether the White House is tone deaf in scheduling the events, what MSNBC's First Read calls Obama's "optics problem."

The first event is a dinner for Democrat Bill Owens, running in a special congressional election in rural upstate New York to fill the seat vacated by Republican John McHugh when Obama appointed him secretary of the Army. This race tests the White House political strategy of appointing Republicans to administration posts from districts where Democrats stand a chance to replace them.

Tickets for the dinner are going for $15,200 a person ($30,400 a couple) and the Mandarin Oriental is preparing for 200 guests. Ever wonder how the food is at those prices?

Despite the administration's repeated blasts at Wall Street for doling out executive bonuses while millions of Americans are still out of work, many from the world of finance are expected to attend. In fact Democratic planners said that four of the seven “co-chairs” and about a third of the guests come from the industry. But the New York Times reports that some big firms bailed out by Washington during the financial collapse have been slow to sign up for the dinners. Apparently they're concerned that it might look like a payback.

Anyway, after that Obama heads to a rally/Democratic National Committee fundraiser, to be webcast to homes across the country, where he will campaign for healthcare reform, a rally by webcast piped into homes across the country.

Anyway, after that Obama heads to a Democratic National Committee rally/fundraiser, which will be available via webcast, to campaign for healthcare reform.

[Updated at 10:18 a.m.: A previous version of this post incorrectly stated that the fundraisers could collect as much as $3 billion.]

-- Johanna Neuman

Photo: Jason Reed / Reuters

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