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Sen. Barack Obama received a nice chunk of change for his campaign Monday night from a Boston fundraiser that doubled as a party to celebrate his 47th birthday.
The event, held at the swank State Room near Faneuil Hall, was expected to bring in close to $5 million for Obama and the Democratic Party, which organizers say would make it the biggest political fund-raiser ever in Boston, reports the Boston Globe.
The reception also served as a unity gathering for Hillary Clinton supporters who were angry at how they believed she was treated by the media and some Obama surrogates during her primary run.
"We all wanted to make a dramatic statement that we're with him every step of the way," said Steven Grossman, a leading Clinton fund-raiser and former chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
Clinton supporters by themselves raised $700,000 for Obama at last night's event, according to Grossman and Shanti Fry, a longtime Democratic activist who said she campaigned hard for Clinton in five primary states. Fry said that she hoped that the amount contributed by Clinton supporters would squash all talk of them being unsupportive of Obama.
"Given the perception out there, I hope that figure would be a surprise to people," Fry said.
Crooner Harry Connick Jr. and his 9-year-old daughter led the crowd of 850 people in singing "Happy Birthday" to Obama. About 250 people paid $15,000 each - $28,500 for a couple - to dine with him afterward.
For a birthday present, supporters presented Obama with a Red Sox-themed Hawaiian shirt, for use on his vacation next week in Honolulu. "I gotta say that, as a White Sox fan, this hurts a little bit, particularly because we've been losing lately," Obama said. "But it is a very attractive shirt, I must say."
