Most people remember Obama railing against these types privileges when running against Hillary Clinton during the 2008 Dem primary.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is using privileged access to one of America’s greatest landmarks to reward his most generous financial supporters in ways that Republicans Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum can’t match: More than 60 of Obama’s biggest campaign donors have visited the White House more than once for meetings with top advisers, holiday parties or state dinners, a review by The Associated Press has found.
The invitations to visit 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, which are a legal and established practice from incumbent presidents, came despite Obama’s past criticisms of Washington’s pay-for-access privileges and mark a reversal from early in the president’s term when donors complained that Obama was keeping them at arm’s length. […]
The AP’s review compared more than 470 of Obama’s most important financial supporters against logs of 2 million visitors to the White House since mid-2009. It found that at least 250 of Obama’s major fundraisers and donors visited the White House at least once, being cleared for events like dinners or one-on-one meetings with senior advisers.
Earlier this month, the White House extended invitations to more than 30 of the president’s top fundraisers to an elaborate state dinner, where they mingled with celebrities and dined with foreign leaders on the South Lawn of the White House.
Other purposes for visits included one-on-one meetings with top West Wing staffers, such as former chief of staff Pete Rouse and senior adviser Valerie Jarrett. Those donors include so-called “bundlers” — supporters who have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars apiece for Obama’s re-election.
Top donors to the super PAC supporting Obama, like Chicago investment manager John W. Rogers Jr. and Hollywood director Steven Spielberg, gave more than $150,000 combined to Priorities USA Action, according to finance reports, while also making repeated trips to the White House.
HT: Denny