Dick Durbin: February 2007 Archives

White House hopeful Barack Obama is using this week in Washington to lock in the support of House members. In 30 minutes, Obama meets with a group of House Democrats at the Democratic National Committee headquarters.

Obama's "whips" --deputies--tasked with lining up House backers--will be at the meet and greet. Members of the Illinois delegation are the corp of his whip team. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) has taken a lead organizing House recruits. The House is ripe for picking up supporters. The Senate has too many members running--Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Chris Dodd, Joe Biden--and recent former candidates--John Kerry and Evan Bayh--to expect most Dems to choose sides.

Meet the Obama whips:

BEVERLY HILLS-- Both Illinois senators, Dick Durbin and Barack Obama, are fundraising in California this week: Durbin for his 2008 re-election campaign and Obama for his White House bid. The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson is in Los Angeles for meetings with corporate executives and this morning was slated to speak to students at a Compton high school.

Last night, by coincidence, I intersected with these three separate worlds at the Beverly Hilton. I booked a room here because this is where Obama was headlining a fundraiser Tuesday night hosted by Hollywood moguls David Geffen, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Steven Spielberg.

Sen. Dick Durbin is kicking off a fund-raising blitz for his 2008 re-election campaign on Sunday at a brunch hosted by Democrats Susan and Lew Manilow.

Susan Manilow, a longtime Democratic activist and fund-raiser, is the new chair of Durbin's finance committee, and the Sunday huddle will be the first meeting of his 2008 finance committee.