Seating Chart: "Dinner with Barack and Michelle"

Former Social Secretary Julianna Smoot: "my job is done"...
President Obama's second White House Social Secretary, Julianna Smoot, left 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue House in March of this year to become his Deputy Campaign Manager. She sent heady news via e-mail to re-election supporters today, as she unveiled the seating chart, above, for OFA's fundraiser "Dinner with Barack and Michelle."

Three lucky winners and their guests will dine with the President and First Lady Obama at an unspecified date and place, and Smoot dubbed the seating arrangement her easiest assignment ever.

"I've put a lot of dinners together for the President and Mrs. Obama," Smoot wrote. "Sometimes they've been for foreign dignitaries and heads of state. Sometimes they've included governors, artists, and musicians. The seating can get pretty complicated, but I have to say, this one was easy."

"So really, my job's done," she added.

Smoot asks for a minimum $3 donation. Her e-mail followed one earlier in the day from Reggie Love, President Obama's longtime personal aide. Love urged donors to "Get on that here," which translated into English, means make a donation to enter the contest.

"Dinner with Barack and Michelle" is the President's third time raffling himself off as a dinner date. He dined with the four winners of the first dinner contest in October at The Liberty Tavern, but has yet to dine with the four winners of the second contest. OFA this week released a new video of the Eater in Chief talking about the first dinner, which followed five previously released videos. The current contest closes on December 31.

Smoot's subject heading for her e-mail was "Where do you want to sit?"

The text:

XXXX --

I just saw the seating chart for Dinner with Barack and Michelle, and I thought you should see it, too.

The President and First Lady are right here. Where do you want to sit?

Take a look, then donate $3 or whatever you can to be automatically entered for a chance to win.

I've put a lot of dinners together for the President and Mrs. Obama.

Sometimes they've been for foreign dignitaries and heads of state. Sometimes they've included governors, artists, and musicians. The seating can get pretty complicated, but I have to say, this one was easy.

One table, six guests, and the President and First Lady.

So really, my job's done. The only thing that's missing is who the guests will be.

Click here to give $3 or whatever you can and be automatically entered for a chance for you and a guest to have dinner with the President and First Lady:

https://donate.barackobama.com/Barack-and-Michelle

I'd love for you to be there.

Thanks,

Julianna

Julianna Smoot
Deputy Campaign Manager
Obama for America
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Obama Aide Reggie Love Touts "Dinner with Barack and Michelle" Campaign Fundraiser

Love is in love with the dinner contest: "Get on that here"...
President Obama's closest personal aide, "body man" Reggie Love, is leaving the White House before the end of the year. Today Love sent his very first fundraising e-mail for the 2012 campaign, touting the "Dinner with Barack and Michelle" contest. Love, 30, has spent four years with Mr. Obama, and his wide array of very intimate duties included Presidential food wrangling on the road, as well as dining with his boss--which is the point of his e-mail: "I've also eaten many, many meals with him," he writes. Thus Love is in love with the dinner contest, he says.

"I kind of love this "Dinner with Barack and Michelle" contest. You all have to do this," Love wrote. "Get on that here."

The subject line for the e-mail is also "You All Have To Do This." The faux homeboy vernacular is pretty goofy, given that Love is exiting Mr. Obama's orbit to finish a graduate degree at an Ivy League university. And typically "You All" is spelled "Y'all," isn't it? The goofiness can be credited to whichever OFA staffer wrote the e-mail, of course.

And the goofiness factor gets even higher as the e-mail touts the exclusivity of dining with Barack and Michelle.

"I know that dinner with Barack and Michelle is something that usually only happens with the girls, and no one else," Love/the OFA staffer wrote.

"You should know this practically never happens."

Just to point out the silliness of that statement, the guest lists for 2011's three State Dinners collectively had about 700 people, all of whom dined with Barack and Michelle. A couple hundred more people dined with Barack and Michelle at the President's 50th birthday party. And then there was the APEC Leaders Dinner, the Return State Dinner, the Bipartisan Dinner for Congressional leadership, the US Combatant Commanders dinner, and the Governors Dinner, which add a couple thousand more names to the list of people who have dined with Barack and Michelle, just this year.

Of course, those aren't the kind of intimate dinners OFA is promoting in its effort to woo "Everyday Americans" to drop cash into campaign coffers. Inviting guests to dine with the President at the White House would probably raise far more money, but that's off limits under federal election rules.

"Dinner with Barack and Michelle" is the President's third time raffling himself off as a dinner date. He dined with the four winners of the first dinner contest in October at The Liberty Tavern, but has yet to dine with the four winners of the second contest. OFA this week released a new video of the Eater in Chief talking about the first dinner, which followed five previously released videos. The current contest closes on December 31.

Three winners will each be allowed to bring one guest to the dinner, and they will all have to sign documents agreeing to be used in campaign materials.The assigned retail value of the prize package has jumped from $1,075 for the first dinner to $1,600 for the current dinner. It is taxable to the winners, and includes airfare and a one-night hotel stay.

The text of Love's e-mail:

XXXX --

You may know me as the tall guy who followed Barack everywhere he went.

As the President's body man for the last four years, it's been my privilege to help him with whatever he needs: making sure he's on time, finding some food when we're on the road, or playing a quick game of basketball (he won, mostly).

Of course, this also means I've also eaten many, many meals with him.

So first of all, I just want to say thanks for supporting the Obamas and being part of this campaign. It means a lot, not only to the President, but to all of us who've worked by his side.

Two: I kind of love this "Dinner with Barack and Michelle" contest. You all have to do this.

Get on that here.

You should know this practically never happens.

While Barack wants to do these dinners throughout his campaign, I know that dinner with Barack and Michelle is something that usually only happens with the girls, and no one else.

The fact that this dinner is with the two of them should tell you how much it matters to them to know that you have their backs out there.

I wouldn't let this one get away.

Donate $3 or whatever you can today to automatically be entered to win a spot at dinner for you and a guest:

https://donate.barackobama.com/Barack-and-Michelle

Thanks,

Reggie
##

*Photo by Pete Souza/White House, taken in the Oval Office on June 16, 2009.

New Video: President Obama Speaks About "Dinner with Barack" Fundraising Contest

"This campaign and this presidency is not just about me," says Mr. Obama in sixth video about his October dinner with four donors...
President Obama's willingness to raffle himself off as a dinner date to raise funds for his 2012 re-election effort is one of the top White House food stories of 2011. On Monday morning, OFA released a new video clip of the President speaking about having dinner with four campaign donors in October at The Liberty Tavern, as he fulfilled his first meal commitment for the three different "Dinner with Barack" contests. OFA previously released five video clips from the first dinner. (Above: The President in the new video, looking very gray)

Having dinner with supporters "helps motivate me," the President says in the new video.

The four people the President dined with in October are so enthusiastic about Mr. Obama that one, Casey Helbling, a tech entrepreneur from Minnesota, named one of his children "Maxwell Barack."

"They've got their own struggles, they've got their own challenges, and yet they're still out there working on the campaign, working on the issues, trying to get their Congressmen to vote...that reminds me that this campaign and this presidency is not just about me," President Obama says in the video.

First Lady Michelle Obama has been added to the current contest, "Dinner with Barack and Michelle." Entries close on Dec. 31. Three winners will each be allowed to bring one guest. They will all have to sign documents agreeing to be used in campaign materials.



"In this previously unreleased clip, President Obama talks about why dinners with supporters mean a lot to him," OFA wrote. "After you've watched, make a donation to be automatically entered for your chance to attend the next dinner...We'll cover your airfare and the meal—all you have to bring is your story and your ideas."

The assigned retail value of the prize package has jumped from $1,075 for the first dinner to $1,600 for the current dinner. It is taxable to the winners.

President Obama has yet to dine with the winners of the second dinner sweepstakes.
##

Smoot Touts "Dinner with Barack and Michelle"

Enter to win "a once-in-a-lifetime experience"...
The newest e-mail from OFA for the "Dinner with Barack and Michelle" campaign fundraiser was sent today by Julianna Smoot, former White House Social Secretary and now Deputy Campaign Manager. The contest closes Dec. 31; three winners will be selected, and each can bring a guest. The President will be bringing his wife, who has been added to the contest to inspire donations.

"Tell us who you would bring if you won -- and why," Smoot wrote. "I hope you'll put your name in the running to share this once-in-a-lifetime experience with someone you care about."

OFA most recently sent an e-mail to potential donors from Wendi Smith, one of the winners of the first dinner sweepstakes, who called her meal with the Eater in Chief "one of the most significant experiences of my life." Smith dined with the President in October at The Liberty Tavern in Virginia, fulfilling the first dinner contest obligation. The President has nt yet dined with winners of the second sweepstakes.

The subject heading for Smoot's e-mail was "Your guest for Dinner with President Obama" (sic).

The text:

XXXXX --

Have you been thinking about who you'd bring to the next Dinner with Barack?

President Obama will be bringing Michelle to the dinner he's having with grassroots supporters like you. The best part? If you join them, you have a chance to bring a loved one along, too.

Tell us who you would bring if you won -- and why.

Maybe it's your spouse, your aunt who volunteers a few times every month, or your niece who's about to vote for the first time in 2012.

Whoever you choose, this dinner isn't just a chance for you both to meet the President and the First Lady, it's a chance to share a special meal -- to ask the questions you've been dying to ask, and tell the stories you think they need to hear.

I hope you'll put your name in the running to share this once-in-a-lifetime experience with someone you care about.

Let us know who you'd bring and why you want them to meet the President and the First Lady:

http://my.barackobama.com/Your-Guest

Thanks,

Julianna

Julianna Smoot
Deputy Campaign Manager
Obama for America
###

"Dinner with Barack" Winner Sends E-Mail

The Presidential meal was "one of the most significant experiences of my life," says contest winner...
All winners of the "Dinner with Barack" fundraising contests had to sign documents agreeing to be used in Campaign publicity materials. Wendi Smith, one of the four winners who shared a meal in October with President Obama as he fulfilled his first dinner contest obligation, sent an e-mail to supporters this evening. It's the first from any winner, and urges entry in the "Dinner with Barack and Michelle" sweepstakes, the third fundraising dinner. (Above: Smith presents the President with a gift of her artwork)

Smith is described by the Campaign as "an artist and retired professor from Corydon, Ind." Her e-mail had the subject heading "My Dinner with Barack," and she hails her Presidential meal as "one of the most significant experiences of my life."

"To be able to talk to him in person, to connect with him across the dinner table, was very special," Smith wrote.

She's a longtime Obama supporter: "In 2008, I phone banked and canvassed for him near my hometown," Smith wrote. Still, her e-mail is about as interesting as "My Dinner with Andre," that ponderous Louis Malle movie that cinema enthusiasts like to hail as a masterpiece. The Campaign has created its own series of dinner movies: Five videos are here. In a postscript, Smith attached the photo at top of herself with the President. The Commander in Chief liked her artwork, she said. Smith asks for a donation of at least $3.

Three people will win the current dinner contest, and each can bring a guest: The President's "guest" is his wife. The dinner prize is fully taxable under IRS rules, and has an assigned retail value of $1,600. Entries close on Dec. 31. The President will dine on an unspecified date with four donors from the Campaign's second contest, the "Dinner with Barack II" sweepstakes, held during fundraising quarter 3, July-September.

The full e-mail text:

XXXXX--

My name is Wendi, and about a month ago, I had dinner with President Obama.

It was one of the most significant experiences of my life.

Click here to take that chance for yourself.

It all happened because I responded to a "Dinner with Barack" email in my inbox. I was planning on making a donation anyway, so I thought I might as well do it now.

When I got the call, I couldn't believe it -- and when I flew out to D.C. for the dinner, I really couldn't believe it. I'm just one of more than a million grassroots supporters of this campaign. But a few hours later there I was.

I never imagined that I would sit down for a conversation, let alone a meal, with the President of the United States.

If you've thought about entering but haven't taken the chance yet, I urge you to do so now. You never know what might happen.

And I hear the First Lady is going to be there for this one, too ... very cool.

Donate $3 or whatever you can today to be automatically entered to win dinner with Barack and Michelle.

I've supported Barack Obama for a long time, and in 2008, I phone banked and canvassed for him near my hometown of Corydon, Indiana.

To be able to talk to him in person, to connect with him across the dinner table, was very special.

I told him about my son and his college loans, my work as an artist, and asked him about public education -- I could tell that he was genuinely listening to each of us, even though I'm sure he had a lot going on that day, and his own family back at the White House.

When I got back home, I told my husband and friends that the President was exactly the man we all thought he was: modest, genuine, engaged, and very caring.

It's a memory I will cherish for the rest of my life. I'm so glad I decided to enter.

Join me by giving $3 or more, and start thinking about who you'd invite to dinner:

https://donate.barackobama.com/Dinner

Good luck,

Wendi

Wendi Smith
Corydon, Indiana

P.S. -- Here's a picture of me after signing a postcard with my artwork on it for President Obama. He asked if he could have one at dinner, but I thought he may forget about it when it was time to go. He didn't. The President made sure someone found a pen so I could sign it for him before he left. I wrote, "To Mr. President, with love and respect, Wendi Smith."
##

*Photo from OFA

Who "Deserves" To Dine With President Obama?

The Obama Campaign apparently wants to know which of your friends have been naughty or nice this year...
 
In an afternoon tweet promoting the third fundraising dinner with President Obama--now known as "Dinner with Barack and Michelle," @BarackObama asked "Which friend do you think deserves a seat at the table for #DinnerWithBarack?" The accompanying link went to the flag-wrapped screen, above, a new addition to OFA's website, which encourages supporters to enter their friends' e-mail addresses.

The three winners of the contest are each allowed to bring a guest.  The bar is pretty low for selecting "deserving" companions: Dining with the Eater in Chief and his incredibly popular wife can be had for a $3 donation.

The campaign recently advertised that it is looking to hire new staff to write its digital media missives. It can't happen fast enough: The word choices for campaign e-mails and tweets swing between boring, weird, and ominous.

"We're taking names," President Obama wrote when first announcing that he's raffling himself off as a dinner date for the third time. The phrase sounds more than a bit Orwellian, unless the President is Santa Claus, and checking his list twice.

The current contest closes Dec. 31. The President has completed one of his contest dinners, and the Campaign recently released five different videos about the Presidential dinner in October at The Liberty Tavern in Virginia. The date for the dinner fulfilling the second contest has not yet been announced.

Michelle Obama Wants To Dine With YOU

First Lady e-mails about "Dinner with Barack and Michelle" fundraiser...
America's most famous eaters are looking for dinner companions. President Obama announced via e-mail on Wednesday that his wife will be joining the lucky winners of the third "Dinner with Barack" campaign fundraiser, now renamed "Dinner with Barack and Michelle." Today the First Lady sent an e-mail wooing donors, too, asking for a $3 donation. The e-mail had the subject line "[Your Name Here], I want to meet you."

"I'm excited for the chance to meet you and whoever you decide to bring to dinner," Mrs. Obama wrote. "I really hope you give this a shot."

The third dinner raffle will have three winners, and each can bring a guest. The assigned retail value of the prize package has jumped from $1,075 for the first dinner, to $1,600 for the current dinner, which includes airfare and a hotel stay. It is taxable to the winners. The President dined with the four winners of the first dinner contest last month, and the Campaign has released five videos about the dinner. Mr. Obama has yet to dine with the winners of the second dinner contest. Entries for the current contest close on Dec. 31.

The text of the First Lady's e-mail:

XXXX --

I'm excited for the chance to meet you and whoever you decide to bring to dinner.

I really hope you give this a shot.

Give $3 or whatever you can to be automatically entered for you and a guest to have dinner with Barack and me:

https://donate.barackobama.com/Dinner-With-Us

Hope to see you soon,

Michelle

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First Lady Added To "Dinner with Barack" Contest

"I'm bringing Michelle," President Obama announces...
Update, Dec. 1: First Lady e-mails about dinner
President Obama announced today that he's bringing his wife to the third "Dinner with Barack," a fundraising contest launched this month to raise money for his re-election effort. In a new twist for the dinner sweepstakes, the three winners will each get to bring along a guest.

"I thought I'd bring one, too -- so I invited Michelle," President Obama wrote in an e-mail to supporters. "She's in."

The dinner has been re-named "Dinner with Barack and Michelle," as can be seen from the promo graphic, above. The heady dinner can be had for just a $3 donation, Mr. Obama advised.

"Michelle and I don't get to spend as much time as we'd like with the people who are building the 2012 campaign," he wrote. "So I hope you'll take us up on it."

Vice President Joe Biden was added to the first "Dinner with Barack" contest in an effort to sweeten the pot, and it was re-named "Dinner with Barack and Joe." The President dined with the four winners of that contest last month, but Biden was out of the country, and missed the event. Mr. Obama has not yet dined with the four winners of the second "Dinner with Barack" contest.

The assigned retail value of the prize package has jumped from $1,075 for the first dinner, to $1,600 for the current dinner, which includes airfare and a hotel stay. It is taxable to the winners. Entries close on Dec. 31.

The e-mail had the subject line "I'm bringing Michelle."

The text:

Friend --

If you win a seat at the next dinner with three other supporters and me, you'll get to bring a guest.

I thought I'd bring one, too -- so I invited Michelle.

She's in.

Donate $3 or whatever you can to be automatically entered to sit down for a meal with Michelle and me.

Michelle and I don't get to spend as much time as we'd like with the people who are building the 2012 campaign.

But we are incredibly grateful for all you're doing, whether it's volunteering and having one-on-one conversations in your communities or chipping in what you can to help build the organization.

We're looking forward to the chance to thank you in person, so I hope you'll take us up on it.

Make a donation today to be automatically entered for the chance to join us at the table:

https://donate.barackobama.com/Me-and-Michelle

Thanks,

Barack
##

Dinner with Barack: The Mini Movies

Obama Campaign releases five new videos from inside President's dinner with contest winners...
President Obama this week announced the third "Dinner with Barack" contest to raise money for his 2012 re-election war chest. To build interest among donors, Obama for America released five new videos from inside the first contest dinner President Obama has completed, his meal on Oct. 27 at Liberty Tavern in Arlington, Virginia. The President's press pool was allowed into the dining room for less than one minute during the event for a rapid photo op, so the Campaign videos are the first extended look at what occurred as four "everyday Americans" broke bread with the Commander in Chief. The longest video is more than eight minutes long, and edited like a feature film. (Above, the President with from L Knight, Smith, Helbling, and Martinez).

The winners were Juanita Martinez, a retired teacher from Brighton, Colorado; Casey Helbling, a software entrepreneur and small-business owner from Minneapolis, Minn.; Ken Knight, a U.S. postal worker from Chandler, Arizona; and Wendi Smith, a retired professor and artist from Corydon, Indiana. Helbling is such a huge Obama supporter he named one of his children "Maxwell Barack," he revealed after the dinner. All had to sign documents agreeing to be used--without pay--in campaign materials. Each prize, taxable by the IRS, was valued at $1,075, and included air fare to DC and a one-night hotel stay for the guests. The prizes did not include make up and hair service for the winners, as they made their feature film debuts.



The dinner was just 70 minutes long; the guests declined the President's offer of dessert. The longest mini-movie, above, is titled "Dinner With Barack: Two Teachers, an Army Veteran, a Small Business Owner and The President." It's edited to build excitement, and shows the President's guests arriving in Washington and being wowed by the monuments, while discussing their thrill over the upcoming dinner with Mr. Obama. Then it transitions to the restaurant, and shows edited portions of the Presidential mealtime conversation. The other four videos are shorter vignettes of the table talk, edited by theme.

For the record, the President at dinner enjoyed the "Harpoon Caught Swordfish," which is regularly featured on The Liberty Tavern menu. It's served "Portuguese style," with white beans, sweet peppers, lamb sausage escarole, and Littleneck clam sauce ($22). He washed it down with iced tea, though his companions drank wine. Before this week's video releases, the four winners had previously dished about their dinner to various media outlets, as well as put out statements for Campaign HQ.



Above, in this 1:05-long clip, "Dinner With Barack: The Impact of My Father," the President is asked by one of his guests about the "negative impact" of not knowing his father, who left when he was a small child. It's the most moving of the videos.

"As I look back on my life, I only remember my father for one month of my whole life," President Obama said. "When I was ten."

His father, however, introduced him to all the things he became passionate about, the President said--among these basketball and jazz--and the absence made him realize how important it is to be a good father to daughters Malia and Sasha.



Above, in the 1:04-long "Dinner With Barack: A Typical Day," Mr. Obama discusses what might occur on any given day of the Presidency. The days are "packed," the President said, noting that he's "not a morning person." The last time he was awakened in the middle of the night for an emergency was for the Japan earthquake and tsunami, the President said, "probably around 3 in the morning."

"At 6:30, even if I'm really busy, I'll stop, go upstairs, and have dinner with the girls," the President said.



Above, in the 1:02-long "Dinner With Barack: Why Education Is important," the President and his guests discuss education issues, as the title implies.



Above, the final 52-second video is a teaser, billed as "Video Preview: Dinner with Barack." The President talks about the challenges of trick-or-treating in public with his daughters, now that he's Commander in Chief. Last time he "pulled it off," Mr. Obama said, was in 2007.

Other dinners...
The President will dine at a later date with four more donors from the Campaign's second contest, the "Dinner with Barack II" sweepstakes, held during fundraising quarter 3, July-September. The winners' names have not yet been released. In an interview in September, Campaign Deputy Press Secretary Katie Hogan told Obama Foodorama that there was no way to determine how many donors have actually given money in order to be entered in the dinner contests; she said that donations for the dinner contests were not specifically tracked, which seems hard to believe. Donors for the second and third contests were and are automatically entered into the dinner pool, but that was not the case for the first dinner contest. Entering the contests without donating is/was possible, too.

The third contest closes on December 31, and will have three winners, each of whom can bring a guest. The Campaign is already heavily promoting the third dinner contest, and this week sent a Thanksgiving e-mail to woo donors.

*Videos by OFA; photo by AP/Pool