President Obama Draws Will Smith, Eva Longoria and Hollywood Heavyweights to Fundraiser

President hosts a star-studded event in support of reelection bid

By Peter Gicas Oct 25, 2011 7:02 PMTags
Eva Longoria, Barack Obama, WhoSay2011 Eva Longoria / WhoSay

The reviews are in: "Amazing night with our great President."

That's what Eva Longoria tweeted this morning, along with the above pic, following an evening that found President Barack Obama rubbing shoulders with a slew of celebrities.

Things got started at an intimate fundraiser on Monday at the home of I Am Legend producer James Lassiter, where Obama admitted to supporters that the next presidential election "will not be as sexy as the first one."

"Back then, it was still fresh and new," he reminded such famous folks in attendance as Will Smith and Magic Johnson. "I didn't have any gray hair. Everybody loved the 'Hope' posters and all that. This time, we've got to grind it out a little bit. But the cause is the same. And my passion is the same. And my commitment is the same."

Obama discussed his new mortgage refinance program and joked that it will hopefully provide homeowners with more money to "shop and go to Will's movies."

Upon answering a few questions, the commander in chief left soon after and headed over to Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith's pad for another gathering of celebs, including cohost Longoria and George Lopez.

Longoria, who introduced Obama, said he "speaks to the Latino community because he knows he's the president of all Americans."

Obama then addressed the nearly 200 people in attendance, telling them that his administration still has a lot of work "left to do."

"We've got about 60 percent done," he said. "I'm pretty confident we can get the next 40 percent done in the next five years."

Obama wraps up his two-day trip to L.A. today by making his second appearance as president on the Tonight Show.