President Obama is turning 51 on Saturday, with just three months until Election Day. So he will celebrate in truepolitical fashion: spending “downtime,” as an e-mail invitation putit, at a party at his Chicago home with abunch of strangers who made campaigndonations to be there.
That party, on Aug. 12, will mark another milestone inthe transformation of the president and his wife, who once tried to limit the roleof politics in their lives and now seem to be increasingly giving themselves over to it. Even somelongtime Obama fund-raisers expressed surprise over the party’s site: the Obamas have limited their schmoozing hours inWashington, sequester themselves while on vacation and seldominvite many outsiders into the White House living quarters. Until now, they have kept their Chicago home mostly sacrosanct, allowing only limited photographs of the interior.
The party raises questions about how far the Obamas will go in mortgaging their personal appeal for political gain in the months ahead. In poll after poll, votersgive Mr. Obama higher marks as a person — a trustworthy leader, acommitted father — than as a steward of the economy. Aside from their house, how much of themselves are the Obamas willing to offer up?
Consider the shift in Mr. Obama’s birthday celebrations since hearrived in office in 2009. That year, withre-election still distant, Michelle Obama gave him an entirely private surprise party at Camp David, Md., with a few old friends. His 2010 party was splashier, a basketball tournament that made news because of the professional and college stars who played.
A year later, he celebrated his 50th birthday with a fund-raising gala at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom, where Jennifer Hudson sang“Happy Birthday.” Toscrape up extra dollars, the Obama campaign sold commemorative birthday merchandise, including party hats. Even the private party he gave at the White House mixed old friends with allies who might assist in his re-election fight, likeTom Hanks and the Rev. Al Sharpton.
Every year, some Obama supporters have gathered all over the country to “celebrate” his birthday — that is, to share his messageand sign up converts. But in the coming days, they will hold no fewer than 1,000 birthday-themed events, fromNorth Carolina (knocking on 51 doors) to California (calling 51 voters).
Birthday fund-raisersare a familiar tactic that may have reached an apotheosis in 1962, when Marilyn Monroe sang to President John F. Kennedy at a Madison Square Garden rally attended by 15,000 people and broadcast on television. In 1996, President Bill Clinton filled Radio City Music Hall for a 50th-birthday fund-raiser that brought in $10 million.
But the one at the Obamas’ home will have a specific 2012 spin, reflecting the illusion of intimacy on which campaigns now thrive. In recentyears, win-a-visit-with-Barack (or Mitt or Ann or Joe, or Sarah Jessica Parker or Marc Anthony) sweepstakes have become a signal fund-raising tactic for both sides. A recent Obama event at George Clooney’s home demonstrates why: The campaign collected $15 million , according to organizers. Less thanhalf of that came from the Hollywood types who paid$40,000 a ticket; the rest came from a seaof supporters who made small donations and entered an online contest to win seats.
The formula has proved so lucrative that Mitt Romney’s campaign advertisedthe chance to be introduced to Mr. Romney and his vice-presidential nominee: a contest to meet a political partner who does not yet exist. Aside from harvesting newe-mail addresses, thecontests allow the campaigns to “drive their small-dollar contributions off their big-donor contributions,” said Anthony Corrado, a campaign finance expert at Colby College.
Months after winning the Clooney contest, Karen Blutcher, 45, a communications manager for a utilitycompany in St. Augustine, Fla., still sounded thunderstruck that she had met the president and mingled with stars. “The entire event was a lifelong memory,” she said inan interview.
A warning to this month’s lucky winner: The celebration at the Obama home will be considerably less cozy than the e-mailed invitations suggest. The event isnot a social gathering; it is one of four fund-raisers that Mr. Obama will race through that day in Chicago. Despite a gracious invitation that the first lady e-mailed tosupporters, she is not planning to attend, a campaign official said.
Donors may dream of tinkling the keys on the family piano or leafing through private photos, but much of the action will take place in thebackyard. The finalists will be chosen at random, but the contest winners will be selected as reality show contestants are, to make sure their stories fit. (Ms. Blutcher comes from a hotly contested state and supports Mr. Obama’s health care overhaul because she has a son with special needs.)
Even the promise of being allowed in theObamas’ house is a bit of a mirage: the first family rarely spends nights there anymore, and many Chicago friends predict they will never move back in.
Also — and the campaign does not play up this bit of fine print — charging money to enter contests is illegal. So the legions of contestants who reached into their own pockets may not know it, but they could have entered free.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/04/us/politics/obamas-birthday-party-as-fund-raising-opportunity.html?_r=1

regarding contests,,,common sense is not so common

grocery stores and fast food restaurants do it regularly, entering people into 'contests' when they purchase things,,,but somewhere on the site is usually instructions about 'free' entries as well

people just rarely care to dig that deep or care enough about the contest to make that effort.

and raffles are a type of 'contest' where it is fine to charge, because the fees from those who enter are paying for the prize and therefore contributing to their own chance at winning a prize,,,