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| Birthday Bill revels in what he does best: party and politics |
| 2006-10-28 |
| In the smoke-and-gilded-mirrors world of Bill and Hillary Clinton, nothing — not even birthday celebrations — are quite what they seem. The former President embarked last night on a three-day party to mark his 60th, which culminates in a live concert by the Rolling Stones in New York on Sunday. About 2,000 guests have been invited, including some of America’s wealthiest, with each expected to cough up between $60,000 (£32,000) and $500,000 to join in the fun. The money will go to the Clinton Foundation, which does global good works on issues such as HIV/Aids, climate change and childhood obesity. But the birthday in the family this week was not his — he turned 60 more than two months ago. Instead it was that of Mrs Clinton, who was 59 on Thursday. She marked this with a more modest event, a $1,000-a-plate fundraising dinner for her senatorial re-election campaign with about 1,000 supporters at the Tavern on the Green in New York. The reason for the delayed celebrations of Mr Clinton’s 60th birthday is, apparently, that he did not want to interfere with other fundraising events and drain rich donors of money needed by the Democrats in the midterm elections. The starring role he has played in galvanising the Democratic Party has demonstrated just what American politics has been missing in the past six years when ill-health and his tarnished brand prevented him from doing what he does best. Taking the party by the scruff of the neck, Mr Clinton has taken it to the brink of a victory that could yet have huge significance for his wife’s presidential ambitions in 2008. His office was noticeably reluctant yesterday to say anything about the weekend gala beyond reissuing a two-week-old press release containing little more than platitudes. But the A-list of event “hosts” is dominated by the big-time Democratic donors such as S. Daniel Abraham, the former owner of Slim Fast Foods, and Ronald W. Burkle. Others include Steve Bing, the Hollywood producer, who sired Elizabeth Hurley’s son; Frank Giustra, the gold tycoon; Ted Waitt, the founder of the computer company Gateway; and Casey Wasserman, the West Coast entertainment executive. It is not clear if the likes of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are doing this for free. The foundation claims that they had made “a portion of the tickets available to support President Clinton”. But Bernard Doherty, a spokesman for the Stones, said yesterday: “The prime seats — the Gold Circle — have been bought by Clinton’s charity so that they can be offered to his guests and all those wonderful benefactors.” Asked if the band were friends with Mr Clinton, he said: “They’ve met but that’s all I’ll say.” Around midnight tomorrow there will be an after-concert party back at the Gramercy Park Hotel. Not bad for a man who had major heart surgery two years ago. But Mr Clinton has shown in recent months that he is back in a big way, not just as a world-class schmoozer but also providing national leadership for the Democratic Party, which has desperately missed his brilliance in the six years since he left the White House. A letter sent to party donors this month makes clear that he is putting some backbone into Democrats. “We’ve got to stop fighting each other over issues designed to divide us and instead come together to accomplish the great things we can all agree on.” This week Mr Clinton has been keen to keep public attention firmly focused on the coming elections, rather than his own glitzy party, telling guests at his wife’s birthday that he had spent the day “schlepping around New York” to campaign for Democratic candidates. “A couple of days ago I asked Hillary, ‘What would you like me to do on your birthday?’ I was thinking of all sorts of, even at my age, semi-romantic things. She said, ‘I want you to go to upstate New York and Long Island to campaign’.” Next week, despite any weekend hangover, Mr Clinton is scheduled to campaign in Wisconsin, New Jersey, Michigan, Tennessee, Arkansas, Ohio, California and Colorado. He has already made no less than 80 electioneering visits since the spring. Karin Johanson, the executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, told The Times yesterday: “He brings us energy wherever he goes. He inspires the base. While there are still a group of Republicans who don’t like him, this is less of a factor than it once was.” There are some, of course, who suspect a different agenda behind this frenetic activity. If Mr Clinton can demonstrate that he is no longer a sleazy, untrustworthy figure for voters with bad memories of his Administration, it will undoubtedly bolster Mrs Clinton’s presidential prospects. The foundation will continue to give him a purpose and something to do should that return to the White House occur. The campaigning may just help them to get there. In the meantime rich donors will be grateful that the Clintons did not do more to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary on October 11 when they decided, for once, to have a quiet night in at their home in Chappaqua. WEALTH OF AMBITION PRESENT This weekend’s party kicked off last night at the Gramercy Park Hotel in New York City with cocktails and a reception. This morning, the Clintons will join friends — six-figure donors only — for brunch at Pastis, a French restaurant. Then it is off to a reception and dinner at the Museum of Natural History. Once again, the bigger donors will get more tickets and better seats. Tomorrow morning, there will be a round of golf at the Bayonne Club, a Scottish-style links course with a helicopter landing pad and a nice view of lower Manhattan. Those who contribute $500,000 will be allowed to bring along a friend. Then cocktails and dinner is scheduled at the Boathouse restaurant, before the party heads off to see the Rolling Stones at the 2,800-seat Beacon Theatre, where Martin Scorcese may film them for his documentary on the band. The entourage and guests will then repair back to the Gramercy Park Hotel for an after-gig party. PAST Bill Clinton’s 1993 inaugural celebration involved four days of balls, parties and parades costing some $35 million. Aretha Franklin, Michael Bolton, Tony Bennett, Bob Dylan, Diana Ross and LL Cool J performed in front of hundreds of thousands of people. Jack Nicholson and Oprah Winfrey marked the start of the inauguration with readings. Fleetwood Mac reunited after 13 years apart to sing Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow to the new President, the theme song of Clinton’s election campaign. During his first few months in office Mr Clinton had dinner with Paul Newman. Other White House guests included Richard Gere, Cindy Crawford, Sharon Stone and Richard Dreyfuss. |
| Posted by:.com |
| #2 just like the neverending warroom/constant campaign, he'll be having 60th birthday parties for the next two years. "hey, get me some of that waitress and the busgirl, and some cake too! It's my birthday!" |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-10-28 17:06 |
| #1 Ah, the good old days..... |
| Posted by: Bobby 2006-10-28 08:00 |