Star-Studded Wallets Come Out for Obama Fundraiser

Weird doings with Hillary, Huck and a chucked shoe

(NEWSER) - Oh-eight was a banner year for politics, and half the time it was a really strange banner. Politico looks back on the weirdest moments in a topsy-turvy year.

• Mike Huckabee holds a news conference to announce he won’t run a negative ad, then plays the ad for everyone.
• Desperate for blue collar cred, Hillary Clinton awkwardly downs a whiskey shot in an Indiana bar.
• San Francisco tries to rename a sewage plant after George W. Bush.

Opens fundraisers to press; lobby groups barred from giving

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama moved today to make his campaign more transparent, in keeping with his theme of bringing change to Washington. Obama will open all his fundraisers to the press, Politico reports. He’s also cleaning up his party’s fundraising efforts; starting today, the Democratic National Committee, like Obama’s campaign, won’t accept money from lobbyists or political action committees. More»

Hillary Clinton, as 'buyer's remorse' plagues a third of the country

(NEWSER) - The most popular politician nationwide is the one that got away: Hillary Clinton. Nearly two-thirds of the country sees the secretary of state favorably, and a third are battling what Bloomberg terms “buyer’s remorse” over not electing her president. Just over a year ago, only a quarter of Americans felt that way. “Looking back, I wonder if she would have been a stronger leader, knowing the games and the politics and all that goes on,” says a Florida woman. “I don’t think she would have bent as much.” More»

And, simultaneously, not-so-rich ones

(NEWSER) - President Obama's 2012 machine is revving up early, and his campaign is using all its assets to pull in wealthy donors—while also courting the small Internet donors that fueled his grass-roots machine in 2008. The Washington Post takes a long look at the fundraising push, which has included everything from cocktail parties to one-on-ones with Valerie Jarrett to $44 bar get-togethers, depending on what group of donors is being pursued. And the campaign team isn't done yet: Future fundraisers will be even more creative, like the food tasting with the White House chef that's in the works. More»

Event draws 980, one protester

(NEWSER) - President Obama held a relatively cheap fundraiser in Florida last night, and Politico wasn't impressed with the turnout. Obama filled around 980 seats in the 2,200-seat Adrienne Arsht Center for Performing Arts, leaving the entire top level empty. Tickets cost $44. One Democratic official downplayed the turnout: “The expectation was 900." More»