Sweet column: Obama hits Harlem Thursday; first time in presidential run. Live at the Apollo. UPDATED.

SHARE Sweet column: Obama hits Harlem Thursday; first time in presidential run. Live at the Apollo. UPDATED.

HIGHLAND PARK, ILL.White House hopeful Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) headlines the famed Apollo Theater in Harlem Thursday for a fund-raiser four blocks west of President Clintons foundation offices in a community with one of the nations largest African American populations.

Conceding no ground to chief rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), Obama has a series of New York fund-raising events on Thursday, with the most political drama playing out potentially at the 1,500-seat Apollo, Where the stars are born and legends are made. This will be Obamas first Harlem visit in his presidential run.

UPDATE 7 p.m. Chicago time Copy of Apollo invite at the end of this post.

Obama has been wooing New Yorks Democratic elite before and since declaring for president last February. New York Cityespecially Manhattanis one of the biggest sources of Democratic cash in the nation. The Obama campaign has a fund-raising office on the fifth floor at 500 Park Ave. Michelle Obama hosted a womens event in Harlem last June.

The campaign is calling the low-dollar $50-per-person funder at the theater where Bessie Smith and Billie Holiday once performed A Night at the Apollo.

The divisions on the Apollo board may mirror divisions in the wealthy African-American community over Obama and Clinton.

One of the members of the Apollo Theater Foundation board, Nadja Fidelia, a managing director of Lehman Brothers, is an Obama bundler, raising between $50,000 and $100,000 for Obama. Other board members are in the Clinton camp, including entertainer Quincy Jones and former New York comptroller H. Carl McCall.

Harlem is also the home of the William J. Clinton Foundation, the base of operations for the former president who has been on the stump for his wife.

Harlem also plays an important role in Hillary Clintons political biography. Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), the congressman whose district includes Harlem, was one of the first to push in public for Clinton, while first lady, to consider running for the Senate from New York.

Earlier this month, on NBCs Meet the Press, host Tim Russert asked Obama about an interview where Rangel said “I don’t think on-the-job training is going to be a great asset for the next president of the United States.” Question: “That’s what we would have to have with Obama?” Rangel: “Of course.”

Obama replied, Well, look, the only real training for the presidency is the presidency.

Iowa and New Hampshire host the first two Democrat presidential contests on Jan. 3 and Jan. 8 and the African-American vote is very small in these states. In contrast, in the South Carolina primary, at the end of January, African-American Democrats could make-up the majority of primary voters.

The Obama campaign will often acknowledge low dollar fund-raisers, such as the Apollo event; it is secretive about high end fund-raising. On Thursday morning, Obama will collect checks ranging from $1,000 to $2,300 from people attending a 9 a.m. fund-raising breakfast at the Upper West Side home of Susan Waterfall of the investment firm Mougens Waterfall Vintiaois & Co. Obama has other fund-raisers throughout the day.

What’s not known is whether Obama will use the Apollo stage to show off his own set of pipes. He’s not done much singing in public but he has a voice; he sang at the 2006 Gridiron dinner.

————————————————————————

this is a cut and paste of the invite for the Apollo event….

HARLEM 4 OBAMA GENERATION OBAMA

-AND-

State Senator Eric Adams

Della Britton Baeza &

Mario Baeza

State Assemblyman Michael Benjamin

Judy Byrd Blaylock &

Ron Blaylock

Len Burnett

State Assemblyman Karim Camara

John W. Carr

Cordell Cleare

Frank Cooper

Aubria Corbitt & Keith Walton

Wendy Credle

Deborah Darrell

Peggy Cooper Davis &

Gordon Davis

Alice Dear

Angela Dews

Eugene J. Duffy

Nadja Fidelia

Councilwoman Helen Diane Foster

Juny Francois

Darrell Gay

John Gilstrap

Earl Graves

Tiffany Hall

State Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries

Tamara Hood

Jeh Johnson

Susan & Derek Johnson

Joyce S. Johnson

Tracey Kemble & Brian Mathis

Tonya Lewis Lee

Keith Lilly

Shola Lynch &Vincent Morgan

Karol Mason

Rhonda Medina

Cassandra & Lloyd Metz

Virginia Montague

Mike Muse

State Senator Kevin Parker

State Senator Bill Perkins &

Pam Perkins

Irwin Persaud

Michael Persaud

Q-Tip

John Rhea

Sylvia Rhone

Marilyn & David W. Rivkin

State Senator John Sampson

Councilman James Sanders

Beatrice Sibblies

Fred Terrell

Maxim Thorne

Tamara Tunie

Gregory Generet

Councilman Al Vann

Naima Walker Fierce

Nadja Webb Cogsville

Michael Washington

Lana Woods

Brett Wright

Cordially invite you to join them for

A Night at the

with

Senator Barack Obama

Benefiting Obama for America

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Doors open at 7:30pm

At the Apollo Theatre

253 W. 125th Street, New York, NY

Tickets: $50 per person

RSVP REQUIRED

R.S.V.P. information attached. For more information please contact:

Vinson Cunningham at (212) 763-4853 or vcunningham@barackobama.com

Obama for America does not accept contributions from currently registered federal lobbyists, registered foreign agents, political action committees, or minors under the age of 16. Contributions or gifts to Obama for America are not tax deductible. Federal law prohibits the acceptance of corporate contributions.

Paid for by Obama for America.

Obama at the Apollo ~ 11.29.07

***Please include this page with your contribution***

Yes, I would like 1 ticket at $50 per person.

Yes, I would like _______ tickets at $50 per person. My Guests include:

1.__________________________

2.__________________________

3.__________________________

4.__________________________

5.__________________________

6.__________________________

Im not able to attend but would like to show my support for Sen. Obama by

contributing $_____.

Please make checks payable to:

Obama for America

505 Park Avenue, 5th Floor

New York, NY, 10022

-or-

Contribute now at https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/apollo

-or-

Fax your credit card information to: (646) 867-1735

Please bill my personal credit card: Visa MasterCard AMEX Discover

Amount: $_______________

Maximum contribution $4,600 per person*

Card Number: _______________________________________Exp: ___________________

Name as it appears on the card: _________________________________________________

Signature: __________________________________________________________________

By signing above, you authorize us to charge your card in the amount indicated. You also affirm that your contribution is

made from personal funds and not from funds otherwise prohibited by law.

Obama for America does not accept contributions from currently registered federal lobbyists, registered foreign agents,

political action committees, or minors under the age of 16.

Federal law requires us to use our best efforts to collect and report the name, mailing address, occupation and employer of individuals

whose contributions exceed $200 in an election cycle.

First & Last Name: __________________________________________________________ Referred By: _______________________________________________________________

Address: __________________________________________________________________ City/State/Zip: _____________________________________________________________

Employer: _____________________________ Occupation:__________________________

Work Phone:____________________________Work Fax: ___________________________

Home Phone:___________________________ Email: ______________________________

*An individual may contribute a maximum of $2,300 per election (the primary and general are separate elections). By submitting your contribution,

you agree that the first $2,300 is designated for the primary, and any additional amount up to $2,300 is designated for the general election.

Contributions or gifts to Obama for America are not tax deductible. Federal law prohibits the acceptance of corporate contributions.

Paid for by Obama for America.

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