Former President Barack Obama has kept a low profile since he left office. It was just a coincidence that the man who so inspires Democrats made one of his rare public appearances in Beverly Hills on Thursday night during what has been a mostly dispiriting week for members of his party.
With Justice Anthony Kennedy announcing his retirement Wednesday, Democrats have had to face the fact that President Trump will get a second appointment to the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, the high court this week ruled against unions and upheld Trump’s ban on travelers from several countries that are predominantly Muslim. And the outcry over the separation of migrant families at the border continued with no end in sight.
So for a couple hundred well-heeled Democrats, Obama’s Southern California visit couldn’t have been more timely. They gathered in the garden of two major Democratic donors. There were really only two items on the agenda: soaking up that Obama inspiration and donating some major dough to the Democratic National Committee. Tickets started at $2,700 and went as high as $100,000, which bought five primo seats at dinner, a photo with the former president and a position on the DNC Finance Committee.
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