Beyoncé wrote:

Friend –

I usually don’t email you — but I have an amazing invitation I have to share.

Jay and I will be meeting up with President Obama for an evening in NYC sometime soon. And we want you to be there!

Until midnight tonight, if you pitch in $15 or whatever you can, you’ll be automatically entered to be flown out to join us.

I’ve had the honor of meeting President Obama and the First Lady a few times — and believe me — it’s an opportunity you don’t want to miss.

Don’t worry about the airfare and hotel, it’s taken care of. And you can bring a guest.

But the countdown is on — this opportunity ends at midnight:

https://donate.barackobama.com/Meet-Me-in-New-York

Can’t wait to meet you!

Love,

B

Jay-Z and Beyoncé are the latest in a long-line of celebrities to endorse and fundraise for Obama. In March, Obama held fundraisers in New York that featured Russell Simmons and Anna Wintour. In May, George Clooney hosted a fundraiser for Obama at his Hollywood mansion. And in August, Obama attended a baseketball-themed New York City fundraiser featuring failed baseball player Michael Jordan.

It is unclear whether or not Obama will mispronounce anyone’s name at the event.

Simmons, who was speaking at a forum in Israel, alleged that ADL leader Abraham Foxman was “alienating blacks,” and compared his speech to Farrakhan’s divisive rhetoric.

Foxman slammed Simmons for the comparison and for leaping to defend Farrakhan from criticism in multiple interviews over the years.

“Shame on Simmons,” Foxman declared in a statement.

“We’ve heard this kind of doublespeak before, so it is not surprising to hear Russell Simmons once again making excuses for the polarizing anti-Semitic and racist speech of Louis Farrakhan,” Foxman said in a statement. “He’s been doing that for years.”

Foxman expressed shock that Simmons—who has emerged at one of Obama’s chief defenders—would be provided such a forum to spread his hate speech.

“What’s disappointing is that someone who has a history of having a blind spot to one of the most vociferous and ugly anti-Semites would be given a platform in Jerusalem,” Foxman said. “And what’s outrageous is how divisive and ugly his attack on us was.”

After today, Obama will have attended 100 fundraising events since filing for reelection last April, more than double the number of fundraisers George W. Bush had during the same period of his presidency.

By comparison, since April 2011 when the reelection campaign was announced, Obama has held 11 town hall meetings, five press conferences, and two White House meetings with congressional leaders of both parties.

The president’s schedule Thursday includes a swanky gala in Manahattan’s upscale Flatiron District hosted by hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, New Age self-help guru Deepak Chopra, and culinary bigwig Jean-Georges Vongerichten. Tickets range from $1,000 for “attendees to as much as $35,800 for “event chairs.”

Special guests include musicians The Roots, Ben Folds, Ingrid Michaelson, and comedian Aziz Ansari.

Simmons in particular has a checkered political past. He is a vocal supporter of the controversial Occupy Wall Street movement, the adherents of which contend that ultra-wealthy individuals exert an untoward influence on the federal government and do not pay their fair share in taxes.

Simmons is worth an estimated $340 million.

Simmons made his fortune thanks in large part to two companies he founded—Def Jam Recordings and the Phat Farm clothing empire. He currently owns and operates Rush Communications, a conglomerate of fashion, media, and financial firms. In January 2011, Simmons published “Super Rich: A Guide to Having it All,” in which he advises prospective millionaires to meditate, pray and “stay on your hustle.”

But for those whose financial success does not match his own, Simmons has argued, “There’s no difference between being broke and being a millionaire.”

According to TheBlaze.com, the self-described “entrepreneur” “from the hood” is the second-richest celebrity supporter of the Occupy movement.

“I’m here in solidarity to all the people who are protesting the money-grab and the fierce class warfare that’s been waged on the poor and under-served,” Simmons told a crowd of protestors gathered at Zuccotti Park in New York City last year.

Simmons recently exhibited his counter-cultural bona fides in an interview with CNN by defending the actions of Super Bowl performer M.I.A., who flashed her middle finger at the camera during the half-time show.

“It’s a youth culture idea, just the idea of the whole system, to say, you know, young people, that’s what they live for,” he said. “So maybe it’s something she’s done in other performances and it was natural.”

But Simmons’ massive wealth, which places him firmly in the oft-maligned “1 percent” of super-rich Americans, has been a source of tension with the Occupation.

On at least one occasion, Simmons arrived at an “Occupy” protest in a silver Maybach, a rare luxury automobile that retails for about $500,000.

He is also the founder of UniRush, a financial services company that offers prepaid cards to individuals with poor credit history. When confronted by protesters about the efficacy of the practice, Simmons reportedly replied: “I don’t run shit…I’m ready to pay more taxes.”

In 2002, the New York Temporary State Commission on Lobbying accused Simmons of failing to register as a lobbyist before meeting with Gov. George Pataki to lobby for more lenient drug laws.

The commission launched a probe into Simmons’ political activity and whether he and his advocacy group, the Coalition for Fairness, violated state laws by failing to register as lobbyists.

The commission’s executive director criticized Simmons for his refusal to cooperate with the investigation. However, a state judge ultimately blocked the probe.

The Phat Farm founder has also been criticized for his vocal advocacy on behalf of the diamond industry and his defense of contentious mining practices in Africa.

Simmons became an outspoken defender of the industry following a trip to Botswana and South Africa with former N.A.A.C.P. executive director Benjamin Chavis. The trip was organized and paid for by the Diamond Information Center, a public relations firm that represents De Beers.

Although liberals do not typically defend the diamond industry, most of Simmons’ political positions are left-wing and characterized by his disdain for conservatives. Simmons once said of Sean Hannity that rapper Snoop Dogg, author of hits such as “Gin and Juice” and “Drop It Like It’s Hot” was “less racist, less sexist, less homophobic, and less gangsta” than the Fox News host.

Thursday’s event will be the second Obama fundraiser Simmons has attended in a month. On Feb. 7, Simmons was spotted at Obama attended a VIP fundraiser hosted by Vogue editor Anna Wintour and actress Scarlett Johansson, among others.

Multimillionaire celebrities across the country have been lining up to raise money for the president’s reelection.

Former NBA all-star Vince Carter recently hosted an Obama fundraiser at his Florida mansion. The event raked in more than $2 million. The president’s travel expenses were covered by American taxpayers.

CBS Atlanta reported Thursday that actor and director Tyler Perry, best known for his roles in films such as “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” and “Why Did I Get Married?” will host a $35,800-per-person fundraiser for the president at his Georgia home.

The merits and importance of that campaign have been exaggerated, of course. Show me a candidate from the out-party running in an environment in which the incumbent averages 29 percent approval in the run-up to the election, in which the economy is in a recession and credit crisis, in which U.S. troops are deployed overseas in two unpopular wars, and I’ll show you a winner. The fact that Obama’s general election opponent chose to ignore his greatest vulnerability only eased his passage to the White House. The favorable political landscape and the media’s hosannas obscured weaknesses—Obama’s remoteness, his dependence on scripts, his partisanship, and his inflated sense of his powers of persuasion—that would harm him after the Inauguration.

Obama for America 2008 may not have been, as the president put it on Election Night, the “best political campaign, I think, in the history of America.” Nor was it, as a former editor of the New Republic once wrote, “the political equivalent of crossing a Lamborghini with a Hummer.” But Obama’s first presidential run was formidable in at least this aspect: The then-senator and his top lieutenants were careful in projecting a “good-government,” squeaky-clean halo over his candidacy. Obama pledged to operate within the system of public financing. No lobbyists were allowed to donate to the campaign. No lobbyist, it was said, would be allowed to serve in an Obama administration. Such an administration, moreover, would be committed to “creating an unprecedented level of openness in government.”

Such promises, more than any specific policies, were crucial to the burgeoning conceit that Obama’s candidacy was “potentially transformational.” That Obama held to a supposedly higher standard than Hillary Clinton or John McCain added to his “cool” factor and helped him excite young voters. But the pledges lasted only as long as they were politically useful. As soon as the Obama campaign realized that it could raise more money outside than inside the public system, it revealed how empty its rhetoric had been. Obama, an outspoken supporter of campaign finance reform, became the first candidate in the post-Watergate era to reject the public financing system.

The Republicans working against Obama’s candidacy in 2008 were both frustrated and impressed by his campaign’s thoroughness in quashing potential scandals. Try as they might, Republican researchers four years ago could not uncover any major lapses in the Obama campaign’s vetting procedures for donors and bundlers. Sure, the Republicans uncovered minor mistakes here and there, but the material was small fry. Chicago was fastidious. And the money came flowing in: $750 million, the most money raised by any candidate for office in American history.

The turnabout on public financing, meanwhile, set the pattern for future reversals. First comes the flowery profession of left-wing ideals. Then the grubby realities set in and Obama and his team backtrack on earlier pledges. The switch causes a brief news sensation in which partisan Democrats declare that Obama was forced into abandoning his position because of Republican perfidy. The media herd nods its collective head and the breach is quickly forgotten. A few true believers turn against the administration by closing their pocketbooks.

Obama is a pro at delivering empty promises. Since the launch of his presidential odyssey, he not only has reversed course on public financing but also on the individual health care mandate and the public option and the release of sensitive documents pertaining to interrogations. He was unable to satisfy his base by closing Guantanamo or by giving Khalid Sheikh Mohammed a civilian trial. The supposed civil libertarian has embraced preventive detention and the extrajudicial killing of American citizens involved in terrorist networks. Lobbyists were granted waivers and provided loopholes to serve in the administration. The White House’s record on transparency was clouded at best. None of this was sufficient to alienate Obama’s core supporters, who despite the occasional griping were content with their man’s clichéd paeans to fairness and public investments and green energy economics.

This lack of serious intra-party criticism encouraged the Obama political team to become lazy. The president relied too heavily on the unions, who were fighting rearguard actions to prevent common sense pension and benefit reforms. His unpopular policies—stimulus, healthcare—contributed to a steady decline in his approval ratings. He failed to expand the ranks of potential contributors. He failed to enact climate change legislation, angering the green lobby, but did sign the Dodd-Frank monstrosity into law, angering his friends on Wall Street. Other allies discovered that cronyism does not always pay.

As a result, Obama has found it more difficult to raise money. He has $140 million so far, suggesting that it will be hard for his campaign to match its 2008 numbers, much less its ridiculous rumored projection of $1 billion. The campaign has become more desperate as the money has dried up. You see it in the U-turn on Super PACs, which have gone from threatening democracy to being an integral part in the president’s reelection effort. You see it in the questionable characters that show up in the lists of Obama donors and bundlers: The two brothers of a Mexican fugitive; the former Democratic congressman and registered lobbyist who says he was never a lobbyist; a king of short sales connected to the call girl for client number nine; the founder of Def Jam Records; and Anna Wintour.

Moreover, what, exactly, is the president’s message? Obama ran on hope and change and an end to the war in Iraq in 2008. He pledged to reform health care and Wall Street and change the tone in Washington. But the geniuses in Chicago have yet to come up with a 2012 slogan that is anywhere near as intoxicating. “Obama 2012: It Could Be Worse” just won’t cut it. Nor will singing. Right now, the media are content to focus on Republican infighting. They are happy to assist Obama in the suggestion that Election Day 2012 will somehow decide the future of contraception in America. But there is a long way to go before the vote. And at some point voters are bound to wonder what a second Obama term will bring.

Declining fundraising, suspect supporters, and the absence of an affirmative message—these are all signs of a campaign that is nowhere as strong as we have been led to believe. They undermine the notion that the 2008 campaign was all that impressive to begin with. And they point to a fact that soon will be impossible to ignore: President Obama has gotten sloppy.

A rep for Simmons, however, denies the encounter took place.

Via Page Six:

The mega-millionaire music and fashion mogul — who’s now single after splitting with actress Melissa George — was spotted in the unisex bathroom during Monday’s party for Vs magazine hosted by Helena Christensen, Nur Khan and One Model Management at the Dream Downtown hotel’s Electric Room.

Our eyewitness told us: “Russell was in the bathroom talking to the many models coming in and out. He left, and then he came back with this one brunette. He playfully led her into one of the bathroom stalls and closed the door,” the source continued.

Asked about Republicans criticizing the fundraiser, Johansson said, ”Why would they say that? They are all so unfashionable. Let them say what they want!”

The Beacon was also amused to witness a self-identified reporter for the Daily Beast have trouble getting into the party. Must have been because of Newsweek’s harsh coverage of the president and his reelection efforts:

The Obama Victory Fund 2012 will host the event at ABC Carpet & Home in Manhattan’s upscale Flatiron District, according to the official online invitation. Special guests are expected to include hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, New Age self-help guru Deepak Chopra, and culinary bigwig Jean-Georges Vongerichten, among others.

Prospective partygoers can choose from three levels of tickets, “Event Chair” ($35,800), “Event Host” ($10,000), or for those with shallower pockets, “Gala Attendee” ($1,000 a piece).

Their massive wealth notwithstanding, Simmons and Chopra were both vocal supporters of the “Occupy” movements, and were named to TheBlaze.com’s list of the “Top Ten Richest Celebrities Supporting ‘Occupy Wall Street.’”

Simmons (number two on the list) is worth an estimated $325 million, while Chopra (number four) has, thanks to an array of bestselling books and a popular offering of high-priced “healing” seminars, amassed of fortune worth approximately $80 million, placing both men firmly in the much-maligned “1 percent” of ultra-wealthy Americans who Occupiers allege are gaming the federal government and not paying their fair share in taxes.

Both Simmons and Chopra have a history of political activism, tending towards very liberal positions on a host of issues and an outspoken disdain for conservatives. Simmons once said of Sean Hannity that rapper Snoop Dogg, author of hits such as “Gin and Juice” and “Drop it Like it’s Hot,” was “less racist, less sexist, less homophobic, and less gangsta” than the Fox News host. Simmons exhibited his counter-cultural bona fides recently in an interview on CNN by defending the actions of Super Bowl performer M.I.A., who flashed her middle finger at the camera during the half-time show.

“It’s a youth culture idea, just the idea of the whole system, to say, you know, young people, that’s what they live for,” he said. “So maybe it’s something she’s done in other performances and it was natural.”

Chopra, a frequent Huffington Post contributor, once described President Ronald Reagan as someone “whose smiling persona was a stalking horse for the reactionary forces that have brought us to the demoralized state we are in.” Of conservatives in general, he recently wrote: “It’s tragic that the very word ‘values’ has been coopted by the most intolerant sector of society.”

Neither men have been particularly generous when it comes to personal campaign contributions. Simmons has given roughly $15,000 to Democratic candidates and committees, while Chopra has given about $7,000.

However, with the Obama administration’s newfound embrace of anonymously funded Super PACs, they should have ample opportunity to put their money where their mouth is — beginning, perhaps, on Mar. 1.