I attended the President's Dinner in Washington, DC (vanity)

self | 7-24-2004 | CaraM

[CaraM]

Although I'm normally mostly a lurker, I decided to share this wonderful experience with my fellow freepers:
Wednesday, 21 July, 2004: We attended The President's Dinner and Fundraiser for President Bush, held at the Washington DC Convention Center. The Dinner was organized by the RNC and over 10,000 people attended. President Bush delivered an optimistic speech amidst roaring applause and several standing ovations. An impressive 23 Million Dollars was raised through this event.

[CaraM]

The day before, Tuesday, the RNCC Business Advisory Council held its annual board meeting:
A tribute to Ronald Reagan was added to the regular line-up of speakers. The two most memorable speakers were Jim Rogan, former rep. of California, and Michael Reagan. Michael delivered an emotional account of life with his father, Ronald Reagan, and there wasn't a dry eye in the house.
Jim Rogan, best known for his participation on the Impeachment Panel against Bill Clinton, shared from his heart also.

I want to add an advertising plug for Jim Rogan's autobiography "Rough Edges". (I got an autographed copy.) It's a great read. I finished it in two days. Flame away if you want but I want to state this for the record: Jim Rogan is future President material!

The Tuesday Meeting ended with a briefing by Ken Mehlman, the Bush-Cheney '04 Campaign Manager. Ken delivered a powerful speech and gave us useful statistics as well as strong encouragement. His devotion to this cause is clearly visible. He is well-prepared, and this re-election campaign is in good hands.

The President's Dinner was the first large event of this caliber my husband and I ever attended, so the anticipation was great. The walls and ceilings were illuminated by a "stars and stripes" light display and set a patriotic and festive atmosphere.

It was important to me to meet as many people as I could and find out what walks of life they came from. I was pleased to get to know conservatives from almost every state in the country, from many jobs, careers, and professions and with all possible skin colors, age groups, and religions.

President Bush had visited several states earlier that day and happily shared that he saw "huge and enthusiastic crowds" at each campaign stop. He made a reference to Kerry's comment about the 'heart and soul of America' and that the Democratic Party did not want to release the now infamous taping of the recent Democratic Fundraiser. Seems we are getting good mileage out of the Whoopi Goldberg and Hollywood Left Attack session.

It was wonderful and exhilarating to be among thousands of like-minded people who whole-heartedly support our beloved President. We love you, Dubya!

[duckbutt]

Thank you for your first hand account - - it's wonderful to be with like-minded people, to be sure!

I live in the DC area - - wish I had known about this....

[Miss Marple]

Thank you for this inspiring account! Out here in the Heartland, we don't get much opportunity for events like you attended, so I am always glad to read an account of what is going on.

[M007]

Congrats, the dinner sounds like a lot of fun!

[hoosiermama]

Thank you so much for sharing.....You didn't happen to get any pictures did you?

[Askel5]

$2,500 was just too steep for me.
But my heart did melt a little when I too was invited.

[the Deejay]

How wonderful for you! How many times did you get frisked? LOL

I heard a pundit the other night say, this White House hasn't been throwing parties and dinners and it's very important in DC to do so on a regular basis. I'm thinking, 'why? Maybe Dubya doesn't want to spend taxpayer money so frivolously.

[Bonaparte]

Thanks for the update, Cara! Rogan's a great guy and a funny speaker. I hope he continues in politics.

[Cultural Jihad]

Thank you for posting this, CaraM.

[ambrose]

23 million bump!

[woofie]

Will you lend me some money?

[Bonaparte]

That's what the "pundits" do. One says the President's not doing enough of X. When the President does more of X, another pundit says he's doing too much.

No Republican President can win with the media.

[nuffsenuff]

I got the invite too.

I was almost tempted to go. Then I checked my bank account, looked at my two daughters (23 months and 5 months) and figured it wasn't a good idea.

They'll have to settle for $50.

Wish I could have gone.

[octobersky]

Wow, sounds like you had a wonderful time. What a thrill it must have been to be at something like that in person. Thanks for sharing. Here, I googled up some pictures to go with your post:

[upchuck]

Ping

[the Deejay]

No Republican President can win with the media.

I knew that. But never knew a president was "suppose to" be throwing parties back to back for the DC elite on taxpayer money no less.

[AmericanMade1776]

President Bush appreciates...us anyway...:-)

[The Mayor]

Bump!!

Thank you for the report!

[CaraM]

Out here in the Heartland, we don't get much opportunity for events like you attended, so I am always glad to read an account of what is going on.

I'm happy to say: I'm from the Heartland also. I'm here in Missouri. This event was a big adventure for us.

[Senator Pardek]

Did you get the invite with a crumpled up photo addressed to a certain "Sailin'" (sic).