I never did like Elton John's music.

She sure isn't going anywhere any time soon - that's obvious. She must believe she can still win this.

I suppose she could if she could pull off wins in the remaining states that are significant enough to cause the SDs to decide to support her.

I am not counting anything out. Every time I do - and I thought it was probably over at least 3 times before now - she comes back.

If sheer tenaciousness can win this - she's got that by the boatload.

Obama farts $2.5 mil.

Now that I think of it, I think I'll send him another $50 during Elton's show.

I pity those donors sitting through "Candle in the Wind" recycled for the third blond in the past three decades. Eh, serves them right.

In fact, I just got a mental picture of all those Hillary supporters "rocking out" to Elton.

I so wish that hadn't jumped into my head - does anyone have any brain bleach handy?

I wonder how many people attending are Mark Penn's clients from Burson-Marstellar, and how many are lobbying for passage of the Colombian Free Trade Agreement?

Speaking of "Candle in the Wind" -- that's Hillary's campaign, about to blow out.

I understand that some maxed out Hillary folks are plugging more money in by doing so in the names of others who reciprocate by verbally 'owing' that donation back........er, someday.

Hillary-Aid!

I may die laughing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Elton John's last single: "The Bridge" was one of the single worst songs I have ever heard in my life.

He's old, his songs don't stand up (unless you're too into Cameron Crowe movies), and he'll do anything to be on TV, especially Larry King, his peer in age and eyeglass preference.

I bet he plays "Hillary 4u and me."

Hold me closer, Tiny Monster...

I have to say, with the crazy numbers bouncing around in the Dem primary this year, I no longer have a sense of how to judge these kind of events.

Is $2.5 million a good haul? Well, it is 10 percent of what Hillary brought in last month, but I understand most of that was on the web. This event costs a great deal more to set up - renting Radio City, publicity, selling (or giving away) the tickets and so on. Is that even a very good use of resources? (If the $2.5 million is net and not gross, let me know. I've obviously never run a large scale fundraiser like this before.) But I remember stories from 2004 about how the Bush machine was so efficient because they would rent these basic halls and serve hot dogs for $1,000 a plate to make sure they pocketed most of their take.

I guess there's a PR benefit, though I'm not sure how spending the evening in New York with a flamboyantly gay British pop singer will pay with the blue-collar, work-pail crowd that is supposed to be Hillary's base in PA.

I guess the upshot for me is - this seems to be a lot of work and hullabaloo over an event that represents one percent of Hillary's overall take and less than half a percent of the total raised by both Democrats so far.

Funny that Obama has a free concert for supports and Hillary has to charge.

One other point, if Hillary is doing so well financially why isn't she paying her bills? I read that a college in CA is threatening to turn her over to a collection agency. That should be a clear sign to voters that she isn't ready or a good enough manager to be President.

Yea....never liked Elton John. Nope. Definitely not. Definitely. Definitely not Elton John.

/Obama Rain Man

Oh good. Now she can start paying back all of those schools and small vendors who are still unpaid.

No, really, how does a 6000-person event raise $2.5mil? Are some seats reserved for bundlers who have already raised certain amounts? If so, then can you really call that "new" fundraising? And if not, then that's ~$4k a seat, almost half of which by definition can only be for general election use.

Either way, could we see some more scrutiny of how this math works?

I was justified when I was five
Raising cane, I spit in your eye
Times are changing, now the poor get fat
But the fever's gonna catch you when the bitch gets back

Eat meat on Friday that's alright
Even like steak on a Saturday night
I can bitch the best at your social do's
I get high in the evening sniffing pots of glue

I'm a bitch, I'm a bitch
Oh the bitch is back
Stone cold sober as a matter of fact
I can bitch, I can bitch
`Cause I'm better than you
It's the way that I move
The things that I do

I entertain by picking brains
Sell my soul by dropping names
I don't like those, my God, what's that
Oh it's full of nasty habits when the bitch gets back

I suspect Black Eyed Peas brought even more money to Obama when the campaign sent out their video and asked people to donate. By the way, we should all donate today to Obama to offset the Elton Pink Blinders.

Dayum, wish they'd sent me one!

You know what Obama would have to do to raise $2.5 million in a night? Run for President.

Just say Nobama!

I used to be a rolling stone
You know if the cause was right
I'd leave to find the answer on the road
I used to be a heart beating for someone
But the times have changed
The less I say the more my work gets done

Cause I live and breathe this Philadelphia freedom
From the day that I was born I've waved the flag
Philadelphia freedom took me knee-high to a man
Yeah gave me a peace of mind my daddy never had

Oh Philadelphia freedom shine on me, I love you
Shine a light through the eyes of the ones left behind
Shine a light shine a light
Shine a light won't you shine a light
Philadelphia freedom I love you, yes I do

If you choose to you can live your life alone
Some people choose the city
Some others choose the good old family home
I like living easy without family ties
Till the whippoorwill of freedom zapped me
Right between the eyes

Well its obvious by your choice of candidates, you have no taste!

LOL

Isn't this a violation of election law?

Elton John is not a US citizen. I don't think he is allowed to raise money for her.

Good to see that "laws" don't apply to people like Hillary, McCain and Bush.

Welcome to Banana Republic USA.

Too much begrudging on this thread

sure she is, and I'm just as entitled to make fun of it.

I love the Hillary supporters who try to pretend that Obama is anti-democratic due to the goings on in Michigan and Florida...

3 POINTS

1) The RULES were put in place by the DNC last year and both HRC and Obama signed off on them (at the time).

2) Therefore it is not Obama who is stopping the vote it is the DNC's pre-established rules.

and....wait for it...

3) HRC's WHOLE (current) STRATEGY FOR WINNING THE PRIMARY , as stated by her campaign, IS TO OVERTURN THE POPULAR VOTE IN DENVER - pretty democratic eh?

....it seems HRC's supporters are as obsessed with fiction as she is..

Once again I'm underwhelmed by the level of the conversation and overwhelmed by the irrational Hillary hating and name calling that seems to dominate this online community.

For the record, I suspect Senator Clinton does, in fact, think she has a chance to win this. So, too, do I...along with the other 50% of Democrats who are voting for her and donating to her campaign. Her chances of securing the nomination are obviously slim, but I still hold out hope that voters and the super delegates will make the strategic decision to choose the strongest and most experienced candidate to represent our party. (Um, no, that's not Senator Obama. For all his shining qualities and achievements, he pales in comparison to Senator Clinton.)

I'm happy to be attending Elton John's concert this evening. At least the singer is doing something productive with his time. The kind of banter taking place on these blogs is counterproductive and is actually damaging to the Democratic party.

If money is the end all/be all sign of a viable candidacy, than surely Obama will win Pennsylvania by 3:1, right?

Elton John?

She should be able to bag another half a mil on Metamucil and Dentu-Creme concessions.

I do hope Sen. CLinton will now be paying off bills from charities, small vendors outstanding since JANYARY! U Davis announced it will send it's claim to a collection agency unlees they pay up ASAP> The champion of the little guy chages TWENTY THOUSAND $ TO THE CAMPAIGN for 3 nights in Vegas (15K for the Bellagio and 5K for the Four Seasons - see Feb. fen. statement) I don't care what they do, but think they should pay for these extraordinary charges themselves (plus, they can afford it, too) - and we thought a $400.00 haircut was bad!

okay, gotta be honest... i'm 46 and a huge fan of elton and bernie taupin... been to see him over 50 times, the last time at his birthday at MSG last year... so go ahead, say what you will.

but when this concert was announced, i thought about getting tickets... and i realized i couldn't.

i'm supporting barack obama... and until the nomination is set in stone (god help us), i'm only sending money to the obama campaign... i took the money i would have used for a cheap seat to this show and sent it to barack.

so it's gonna be rough tomorrow, seeing the news coverage of the show... but i know i'm doing the right thing.

NYCDem1111

I agree that if Hillary wins the popular vote she should get the nomination.

However, HRC is yet unwilling to state that she will gracefully bow out if she is behind in popular vote and delegates come Denver. Instead, her campaign is now discussing general electorate math as a justification for the nomination.

Regarding the argument that superdelegates are somehow sages, I have two responses:

1) Last I checked our government is supposed to be based on democratic not oligarchic principles

2) Superdelegates are professional politicians and party activists....based on approval ratings for congress it is hard to argue that the American public views these people as some bastion of wisdom.

Also, please list a source for that 50% of democrats you reference...seems like fuzzy math to me.

Also, your last statement is laughable...not sure you understand how elections and campaigns work....talk about underwhelming...

I take back the harsh things I might have said about Elton. I put myself in your place and think, what if it were a Captain Beefheart comeback? And I feel your pain (half thumb up, bite lip).

Really, music and politics should be kept separate, just like religion and politics.

Can anyone tell me if this is LEGAL?

Elton John is British. I thought FEC rules say that foreigners can't donate and also can't raise funds.

Seems like this is illegal.

Ya know, I love the reporting the TPM does but when it comes to the endless snitting here on a regular basis, it just makes me read the stories and hardly ever read the comments by people.

The commentary is just high school hallway chatter and not good high school chatter at that.

Elton John's demographic is vast. Look at the crowds at his shows and you see the same 5-90 crowds that acts like the Stones, McCartney draw. Happens. Honest. He's been one of the biggest concert draws for the past 40 years. No surprise why HC wants a fundraiser with him. He is likely doing this as a payback to Mr. Bill for the work Mr. Bill (some of it with Mr. John's foundation) has done to try to stem AIDS in Africa. Important work no matter what we think of Mr. Bill--and I tend to think little of him otherwise.

Both Hillary and Obama are not so very different from each other. Both are the power mad variety who populate the scene in this dark time. They are, however, infinitely better than what the folks with the elephant are foisting this year. No surprise there. So vote for one of them when the time comes (vote multiple times if you can) and maybe get out of the house more. Do something. Plenty of good that needs doing out there that doesn't involve typing.

Oh, and to the illegality.

You are right about foreign nationals, but it's likely that it's okay if there's no compensation involved.

Elton fans, quit blubbering.

It's not like anyone's called him "Judas" or anything.

Yeah, it's legal and Elton should count as an honorary American anyway. I think a good time will be had by all and who knows, this may supply the emotionsl support HRC fans need to find closure. I really don't want to be too snarky -- the 1970's Elton was a ton of fun, and he's always been a smart musician. Have a good time, y'all.

Poor Hillary. Here's what Elton SHOULD sing to her tonight:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cAc1mxnCyE

One thing I'll give Obama is that if they ever lower the voting age to 13, he'll be virtually unstoppable.

The Only 3 am Call Hillary's Gonna Get...

"If she doesn't pay her bill ($5500) from UC Davis by mid May, the university will send the account to a bill collector and the only call she'll be getting at 3 am is from a guy named Bob"
Keith Olbermann

The Page: "Campaign says more than 5,000 attend; guests served some sort of blue illuminated drinks."

Tell us how they tasted when y'all get back tonight.

playlist (not making this up):

“Your Song”

“Border Song”

“Ballad of the Boys in the Red Shoes”

“Daniel”

“Honkey Cat”

“Rocket Man”

“Tiny Dancer”

“Philadelphia Freedom”

“Ticking”

“Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word”

“Candle in the Wind”

“I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues” (alternate version)

“Levon”

http://thepage.time.com/elton-john-radio-city-playlist-and-political-targets-at-clinton-fundraiser/

It was a fantastic concert.

The audience were all on their feet chanting: Tuzla, Tuzla, Tuzla,

as Elton sang:

And you fibbed your lies like a candle in the wind.