Obama woos Hollywood to fund presidential campaign

Sizzle: Obama rallies supporters in Los Angeles. 'I can't do it without you,' he told them
13 April 2012

George Clooney, Jennifer Aniston and Barbra Streisand lent glitter to a fund-raising rally for US presidential candidate Barack Obama.

They and other Hollywood stars boosted Obama's campaign funds by $1.3 million (£650,000) as the Democratic candidate urged an audience of thousands at an outdoor rally to help him transform America.

Addressing a racially mixed crowd at a Los Angeles park yesterday, Mr Obama talked of a government that is failing the country and a "slash and burn" political culture that stands in the way of significant change.

But with the electorate's support, he added, he could work to resolve such issues as the unpopular war in Iraq and a public education system that he said leaves too many people behind.

"We can do all these things. I can't do it without you," Mr Obama, tieless and in shirt sleeves, exhorted the audience, a year before the state's expected February 2008 primary. Afterwards-Mr Obama appeared at a fundraiser in Beverly Hills arranged by three of the industry's biggest names - Dream-Works studio founders Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen.

He told an audience including Oscar nominee Eddie Murphy, Aniston and singer Jackson Browne that they have " enormous power" that comes with " enormous responsibility" because of their impact on American culture.

"Don't sell yourselves short," he said. "You are the storytellers of our age." Tickets were $2,300, (£1,174) the maximum individual donation to a federal campaign.

At the park, William Gude of Long Beach said Mr Obama's appeal came from his outsidethe-Beltway ideas and opposition to the Iraq war.

"The people with the most experience are the people who got us into this mess. Along with everybody else, I'm ready for a change," the 32-year-old personal trainer said. "I can't take another Bush or Clinton."

Mr Obama's celebrity backing challenges assumptions that Hollywood dollars would default to Hillary Clinton, who has longstanding ties to the industry.

Mrs Clinton will be pulling in star money next month, when a fundraiser is scheduled at the home of supermarket tycoon Ronald Burkle, a longtime friend and fundraiser for her husband.

Mr Obama's fundraiser underscored the intense competition among the Democrats' 2008 candidates for Hollywood dollars. The entertainment industry is a perennial source of cash for Democrats, with big names often donating to multiple campaigns while withholding formal endorsements until later.

The showbusiness world gave $33.1 million (£16 million) to federal candidates and parties in 2004, with much of that coming from Hollywood, according to the non-profit Centre for Responsive Politics.

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