Obama told the crowd that his famed Hope poster from the 2008 was derived from a photograph of Obama sitting next to Clooney when Obama was a U.S. senator. Clooney had been in Washington advocating on behalf of Darfur.
"This is the first time that George Clooney has ever been photo-shopped out of a picture," Obama said. "Never happened before, never happen again."
In fact, the artist who created the poster, Shepard Fairey, used another photograph of Obama but said he relied on the Obama-Clooney picture to avoid a copyright infringement case with The Associated Press. He pleaded guilty in February to criminal contempt for fabricating and destroying evidence.
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[Wolfgang Puck's]dinner menu included an artichoke salad followed by roasted duckling "Peking style" with tiny buns, a duo of lamb and beef cheek with potatoes and Brussels sprouts, and sweet corn tortelloni.
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For Obama, the A-list party was not only a financial hit, it gave the president the kind of Hollywood buzz a Republican seldom gets. But the glitzy event, with its glamour and wealth, also has its risks and it set up a stark contrast with Obama's mission on Friday to highlight the plight of struggling homeowners in Nevada.
Among those at the dinner were such actors and performers as Robert Downey Jr., Barbra Streisand and her husband James Brolin, Jack Black, Salma Hayek and Tobey Maguire, who shared a table with Clooney and Clooney's girlfriend Stacey Kiebler.
linkI didn't know the artist that created the poster was a criminal.
This event raised $15 million.
I thought I'd read an article claiming Downey Jr. was conservative.
And who outside of the a certain segment of the population believes BO cares about the plight of the struggling homeowners in Nevada or anywhere else?
I wonder if BO likes duck on a bun as much as dog on a bun.
Beef cheek?