Campaigning with the Rich and Richer, First Lady Wants the 'Biggest, Fattest Checks'

While crises build from Ukraine to the Middle East to the Texas-Mexico border, President and First Lady Obama have checked out on the presidency to continue their manic fundraising tour. Last night they stopped in Chicago, and Mrs. Obama made no secret of why they were there.

“We need you to write the biggest, fattest check that you can possibly write,” Mrs. Obama told a crowd of donors in Chicago, her hometown. “Writing those checks is the single-most impactful thing that you can do right now.”

The president and first lady, along with Vice President Joe Biden, have stepped up their fundraising schedule in recent weeks as November’s congressional contests approach. Democrats’ chances of taking control of the House appear slim, and Republicans badly want to pick up the six Senate seats they’ll need to take over that chamber.

While Obama’s approval ratings hover at record lows — leaving many incumbent Democrats wary of campaigning alongside him — the President remains a draw at high-dollar fundraisers, which he’s attended in New York, Texas, Colorado, Washington state and California just in the past month.

His journey west this week included two stops in Seattle, two in San Francisco, and two in Los Angeles, including a star-studded afternoon event at the home of “Scandal” and “Grey’s Anatomy” creator Shonda Rhimes.

It takes fat cats to write fat checks. Fat cats don’t write fat checks without expecting something in return.

The Obamas are spending more and more time among the left’s fat cats even as they denounce right-leaning donors like the Koch brothers, accusing them of “buying democracy.”