The UK’s Daily Mail evidently did not abide by the Obama campaign’s restrictions on the media. The Mail snapped a picture of the hideously expensive champagne tower that reportedly featured at one of Obama’s two campaign fundraisers Tuesday night.
The Mail prices each of those 350 bottles in the tower at $300, for a total value of $105,000. That’s about twice the yearly income of the average American in 2011. The New York Post earlier reported that each bottle costs $800, which would put the dollar value of the tower well above a quarter of a million dollars. According to figures from May 2012, the average US home sale price is $202,400.
No one in the US media has questioned the administration about that tower, the message its inclusion sends to the 23 million unemployed Americans, or why the campaign opted for the champagne tower instead of American flags and more traditional decorations for political campaign appearances by the President of the United States.
Hi Bryan,
I usually love your stuff, but you might note from the Daily Mail article that you linked, that the champagne tower is actually a permanent fixture at the club. A little hard to replace that with “American flags and more traditional decorations”. Maybe not a great choice of venue for an optics standpoint, but not more than that. I’m as ready to get rid of Obama as the next guy, but to me this is an irrelevant non-issue… Thanks!
Justin
If Romney was near a tower of champagne with a net worth of a quarter million dollars the media would have their best photographers en masse ready to get shots of him so they could use it with the ‘Romney is out of touch’ story they would certainly write. Why in this economy, would any President think it was wise to walk into a room with this travesty of 1% opulence? This tower is literally the hypocrisy of this administration in physical form. So yes, it’s a very important issue.
Hear him, hear him.
It helps when you spread the wealth around, of course.
Can I get some redistribution of that wine. I am having some people over this weekend.
Can I get some redistribution on the wine. I am having some people over this weekend. Especially when Matt Yglesias says private property is just a myth.
You know, this champagne has only been around since 2006. It is a blended champagne, not a vintage cuvee. It scores a 94 wine rating on Wine & Spirits. It does sell for $250 per bottle and more. This champagne’s primary claim to fame is being featured in Jay-Z’s “Show Me What You Got” video. Apparently, the rapper dumped Cristal for this gaudily marketed newcomer.
You can get better champagne for less money. Dom Perignon 2003 (94 Wine & Spirits) can be had for $160, and it’s properly aged and drinkable now.
– box of straws for there was much sucking to be done.
Interesting. Quick Draw McGraw at work somewhere. Impressive.