Opinion: Barack Obama L.A.-bound to shake hands for dollars

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Sen. Barack Obama makes a point of heralding his small donors from among hundreds of thousands of backers, allegedly to show broad grass-roots political and financial support. But don’t overlook the fact that he still collects large sums from big donors.

Such will be the case when he arrives in Los Angeles on June 24 and meets some of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s donors.

One of Clinton’s strongest fundraising bases was, in fact, Los Angeles. On Monday, Clinton hosted phone calls with her finance committee members and encouraged them to get as heavily involved in Obama’s campaign as they want. Some Clinton loyalists remain hesitant, but others are jumping in.

John B. Emerson is a former Clinton White House aide who was one of Clinton’s most successful Los Angeles-area fundraisers. Convinced that the defeat of Sen. John McCain is all-important, he’s among the co-hosts of Obama’s June 24 gala at the Music Center.

As a co-host, he is responsible for helping get others -- many others -- to make the maximum donation of $2,300 to Obama. In an interview with The Times’ Dan Morain, Emerson would not guess how much he would raise, other than to say: ‘I’m sure I’ll be successful.’

Emerson, of the investment house Capital Guardian Trust Co., said that during the phone calls Clinton gave her backers the ‘clear understanding that she is moving on and that her priority is getting Barack elected.’ Obama’s backers are going out of their way to be ‘gracious,’ he said.

Bloggers such as Joe Gandelman over at the Moderate Voice confirm evidence of Clinton’s behind-the-scenes efforts to mobilize her forces for Obama.

The June 24 event will be two-tiered. Donors giving $2,300 to Obama will get general admission. People giving $28,500 to the Democratic National Committee will get dinner with Obama.

Charles Rivkin, Obama’s California finance committee co-chair, said tickets are selling quickly, many of them to Clinton’s donors. He added that Obama’s fundraisers are not being too pushy.

‘There is not a hard sell,’ said Rivkin, chief executive of the entertainment firm Wildbrain. ‘We want to welcome them.’

-- Andrew Malcolm

Photo Credit: AP / Joe Raymond