ASSOCIATED PRESS
Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., held a baby yesterday after his first campaign rally in Los Angeles.
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Obama rakes in the campaign dollars from top Hollywood stars
A fundraiser held by DreamWorks studio founders takes in more than $1 million
By Michael R. Blood
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES » Checks from Hollywood's A-list stars such as George Clooney, Eddie Murphy and Barbra Streisand added up to a one-night take of $1.3 million for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.
Obama spoke to a star-studded audience last night at a closed-door fundraiser in Beverly Hills arranged by three of the industry's biggest names -- DreamWorks studio founders Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen.
He told an audience that included Spielberg, Oscar nominee Eddie Murphy, actress Jennifer 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 in a 25-minute address. "You are the storytellers of our age."
Tickets were $2,300, the maximum individual donation to a federal campaign, or $4,600 for a couple. A later, private dinner at Geffen's home was being held for fundraisers who brought in at least $46,000 for the evening.
Before the fundraiser, Obama urged a crowd of thousands at an outdoor rally to help him transform America.
With the support of the electorate, Obama said, he could work to resolve such issues as an 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," Obama, tieless and in shirt sleeves, exhorted the audience as supporters enthusiastically waved a sea of blue "Obama '08" signs.
The crowd was strikingly large for a rally a year before the state's expected February 2008 primary.
The fundraiser underscored the intense competition among the party's leading 2008 candidates for Hollywood dollars and endorsements.
Obama's display of celebrity sizzle and campaign dollars challenges any assumptions that Hollywood dollars would default to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., who has long-standing ties to the industry, along with her husband, former President Clinton.
"I think this guy is for real," said longtime Democratic consultant Garry South, who is unaligned in the 2008 race. "I was skeptical at first, but something is going on here. ... Whether it can sustain itself remains to be seen."
Clinton will be pulling in Hollywood dollars next month, when a fundraiser is scheduled at the home of supermarket tycoon Ronald Burkle, a longtime friend and fundraiser for her husband.