Celebrities, Campaign Financiers Mingle at White House State Dinner
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Alex Wong/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Wednesday night’s glamorous White House State Dinner brought Hollywood celebrities, political financiers and Washington power players together to celebrate the relationship between the U.S. and Britain.
The election-year State Dinner was the largest hosted by the Obama administration yet, with 300-plus guests. Among those invited to the soiree were actor George Clooney, who scored a seat next to the first lady, Vogue editor Anna Wintour, actor Idris Elba and Sir Richard Branson.
Billionaire Warren Buffett, movie producer Harvey Weinstein, Rory McIlroy — the number one golfer in the world — and stars of the hit show Downtown Abbey also made the list.
Move than 40 of Obama’s top campaign financiers were in attendance.
In short opening toasts, President Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron underscored the strength of their “essential” political alliance and close personal relationship.
“In good times and in bad, he’s just the kind of partner that you want at your side. I trust him. He says what he does, and he does what he says. And I’ve seen his character,” Obama said of Cameron.
Both leaders also brought some humor to the dinner. Cameron threatened to expose what really happened on their “guys night out.” Obama treated Cameron to an NCAA tournament game in Ohio Tuesday night.
“Maybe I should come clean about last night. We went to basketball and we had a real man-to-man chat. Barack tried to confuse me by talking about bracketology but I got my own back by running him gently through the rules of cricket,” Cameron said to laughter from the crowd.
On a more serious note, the prime minster gave a glowing endorsement of the president’s leadership abroad.
“He has pressed the reset button on the moral authority of the entire free world,” Cameron said. “Barack has not rushed into picking fights, but is a steward of America’s resources of hard and soft power… He’s taken time to make considered decisions, drawing down troops from Iraq and surging in Afghanistan. He’s found a new voice for America with the Arab people.”
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio