I had paid $1000 to attend this dinner for Meg Whitman weeks in advance and could not wait to hobnob with the rich and famous. I have been fairly rich for awhile, at least for the night I could be close to the famous. There were about 20 Jerry Brown demonstrators in front of the Hotel when I arrived an hour before the dinner. Attendees tell me there were 150 demonstrators later. After getting my name tag from a group of dinner workers, when I tried to use it I was told my name was not on the list. I soon found out that I had mistakenly tried to enter the "VIP" networking area. You had to pay a lot more than $1000 to get in that room.
Early on, the non VIP networking area was nearly empty except for two college girls from Sonoma county. They got in free but had to look pretty and hold the door when going into the dinner area. Later I talked to Steve Mullen, head of the Santa Clara County Republican Party for about 10 minutes. He invited me to attend one of their meetings when I had the chance.
My table was number 39, which was exactly in the center of the room, but way way in the back. Guess you don't get prime seating for a paltry $1000. That was the minimum you had to spend to attend this dinner. The big name attendees had been in the VIP area and made a grand entry after the non VIPs were seated. George Schultz, Secretary of State of Reagan, came in, then Mitt Romney, John McCain and Jeb Bush. Jeb is a really big guy, unlike his brother George, but very like his dad George.
Each of the VIPs went up to chairs at the front and made 5 minute or so speeches about themselves and politics in general but ending with an endorsement of Meg. John McCain even made a small joke about going a bit long, but I expect he has made that joke many times. Not really a joke. Meg finished up with a speech where she thanked all those on the stage for their support and filled in with her plans for a new California. It can't come too soon! At the end of the dinner, Meg was at the exit where some people chose to take pics or just talk to her. Didn't have the guts to jump in on it. There were way too many people in the line.