Reports from Inside the President's October 15 Fundraiser in San Francisco

Inside the President's Fundraiser at the Westin St. Francis, October 15, 2009, San Francisco:

From Anonymous 1:

"As I walked south along Powell towards the entrance to the hotel and looked towards the plaza, all I could see was a mass of humanity pushed up against the barriers holding signs of every size, shape and denomination. It was almost surreal in its abstraction.

Inside was a very different scene; a rather demure but joyous sense filed the rooms at least for the first couple of hours of standing and waiting. Finally after over 3 hours of standing, often so tightly packed movement was restricted to rocking ever so slightly from one aching foot to the other the final set of doors opened and en masse we rushed into the welcomed relief of a large air conditioned room.

Then followed more standing (at least for us in the free or $500 SRO location) eventually followed by some opening comments, some great entertainment, and finally Nancy Pelosi’s introduction of the President. From that point on the crowd was behaved as if at a Rolling Stones concert. The President devoted the vast majority of his time recapping his administration’s accomplishments to date and the challenges that await us. He said repeatedly it was going to be tough and would take a long time.

Unfortunately there was very little mention of health care reform. I must hasten to add there was so much applause that much of what he said was hard to hear. Afterwards I asked several people and they all concurred no one heard any mention of the public option."

From Anonymous 2: “During the reception at St Francis today, talking to a few people, I got the impression that Feinstein could be a problem during cloture vote. We’ve got to keep up the pressure - in fact increase it substantially - since all 60 D votes are needed for cloture to avoid Republican filibuster. There is a real concern that she is waiting for an opportune moment to cause trouble. Neither she nor Boxer were there (at least I did not see), but Pelosi intro'ed the President.”

And later from the same person:

“As much I as would like to protest, I think the President needs us to get over the legislative mess that is also known as the US Congress. A few insiders were dropping some hints as to why they are playing the way they are; it’s very complicated politics from what I gather with an 8-year horizon.”

From Anonymous 3:

“Dear Eva thank you, your (single payer) lapel tag was a great success. I got a lot of thumbs up. Obama was very aggressive on the insurance lobby and on Republicans. He knew his constituency here.”

From Anonymous 4, sent to us on Saturday, October 17:

“*Change–verb (used with object) 1. to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of (something) different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone: to change one's opinion; to change the course of history. *from Dictionary.com

“I forked over $250 for the "privilege"of standing with the $500 donators at Thursday's fundraiser for the OFA/DNC. By the way, the $250 came out of my unemployment check. I wish it had come out of a REAL paycheck, one I have not received in 18 months. But I digress.

“Now that it's been two days since the event, I am ready to comment on my experience and all that it has brought up for me.

“I have to say, I felt patronized by our President. He should have known that many of us in the ballroom worked tirelessly to get him elected, gave money during the campaign and have engaged ourselves from the primaries through the transition period (I hosted a healthcare event in December, trusting that Tom Daschle had been thoroughly vetted) and onward in support of Mr. Obama's administration through the OFA/DNC.

“I wish he had first driven along Powell Street where the protesters and followers had been standing for hours…. Then, come into the dinner ($15K a head. Woof.) and reception to report that "there are a lot of passionate citizens out there that we need to recognize and listen to. I don't want to be another elitist President."

“But his speech – pep talk – was him telling us of all the great things he's accomplished since becoming President. Yes, he has made changes "we can believe in" – the Lily Ledbetter triumph regarding equal pay for women, starting the closure of Gitmo, the appointment of Sonya Sotomayor to the Supremes and most importantly in my book, having meaningful dialog with world leaders over issues that threaten every human on the planet.

“I don't think he should be so proud of "keeping our economy from the brink of collapse...". The banks and investment firms that were "too big to fail" are bigger and back to taking huge risks with other people's money while smaller institutions are going under. The unemployment rate creeps higher each month and home foreclosures have not ceased.

(Editor's note: Although the Feinstein 1200 is largely concerned with health care reform, Anonymous 4's reference to "too big to fail" is in fact something we should be concerned about. As former Chief Economist for the IMF Simon Johnson has pointed out, that quality has actually increased risk in the system, which puts Obama's leadership at risk.)

“So, I am one of the "Impatiently Waiting" (see editorial by Charles M. Blow in Sat. 10/17's NYT) for our President to "stand up for his convictions". I wonder: Mr. Obama is head of his party, I mean he is the freaking President and he can't sell members of Congress in the Democratic Party (let alone the party of "no") to fight off the lobbyists and do what's right for their constituents?

“Back to Thursday night. I am glad I saw the President in the flesh talking to his supporters in San Francisco. I really, really want to trust that he knows what he is doing, has a stellar staff to carry out his strategies and that by the end of his first term, we will all look back and say "See? We should have been more patient with the guy. We now have a world-class healthcare system that works for everyone, we did not commit more troops in Afghanistan or Pakistan but instead have found more creative ways to use our intelligence network to find, expose and stop the terrorists who threaten the safety of our country and those of our allies. And all the troops are back from Iraq! Hooray! And guess what?! Small business growth is up, profitable and providing goods and services in the new Environmental Industrial Complex. They are hiring and the unemployment rate is down to 4.7% again. How amazing is it that America is now leading the fight against global warming? The new green house gas emission regulations are working, thanks to the administration, Congress, the EPA and the incredible, energized band of volunteers across the country who are holding their elected officials and the largest emitters accountable!"