Cost Of Attending Obama’s Birthday Party Same As A Years Average Combat Pay For Troops

CNN:

President Obama is jumping back onto the fundraising circuit after a month-long hiatus, set to make appearances at two high-profile events in Chicago Wednesday evening on the eve of his 50th Birthday.

First on the list is a semi-intimate dinner where individuals and couples paid $35,800 for their chance to rub elbows with the president and wish him “Happy Birthday”. The first $5,000 of each ticket sold will go to the Obama campaign while the remainder is allotted to the DNC‘s coffers.

Next up is a birthday concert atChicago’s Aragon Ballroom that is expected to draw as many as 1,500 people. Tickets to that event began at a more affordable $50. In addition to an appearance by the president, musicians Jennifer Hudson, Herbie Hancock, and OK GO will entertain the crowd.

The Obama campaign isn’t yet saying how much they expect the events to net both the campaign and the Democratic National Committee, but it’s safe to estimate the total will soar well into the seven figures.

But the president has some work to do to keep pace with his fundraising clip last quarter that resulted in $86 million for his campaign and the DNC. While the third fundraising quarter began more than a month ago, Obama and his surrogates were forced to postpone or cancel several events while the debt ceiling negotiations dragged on in Washington.

Adding to that challenge is the fact that August is traditionally a difficult month to fundraise during with most donors’ minds on vacation, the beach, and summer’s waning weeks. The result is a campaign that has to go into overdrive to report a big cash haul by September 30.