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»

Tonight's Obama fundraiser to bring in a record-breaking $15M

(NEWSER) - George Clooney's $40,000-a-plate dinner for President Obama tonight is expected to scoop up an eye-popping $15 million. The Hollywood fete, to be held at Clooney's Los Angeles digs, will feature celebs like Barbra Streisand, Robert Downey Jr., and Tobey Maquire among the 150 guests, and is co-hosted by Dreamworks chief Jeffrey Katzenberg. But two-thirds of the money raised will be from "just folks"—tens of thousands of Americans who forked over an average of $23 each for a chance to win dinner tickets. "The number of people who wanted to go to Clooney's house was through the roof," a source tells the Wall Street Journal . The pool has already been winnowed down to 50. Background checks are being carried out on the hopefuls, and two winners (who can bring guests) will be announced today. More»

Matt Damon, Gene Simmons, and others who are disappointed

(NEWSER) - President Obama was quite popular with Tinseltown's biggest stars four years ago, but as he seeks reelection, he's fallen out of favor with some Hollywood liberals. The Week lists eight who have criticized the prez:

• Gene Simmons: The Kiss rocker now regrets supporting Obama in '08, because he believes the president hasn't done enough to help the economy. Who does he like this year? Mitt Romney.
• Matt Damon: He also doesn't think Obama has done enough (his beefs are with Wall Street as well as policies from the George W. Bush era), and said in December that "a one-term president with some balls" would have been better.

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»