Obama, ex-enemy to super-PACs, set to headline

President Obama will publicly headline his first super-PAC fundraiser while in New York City on Tuesday.

Obama is slated to appear in the early afternoon at a roundtable event at the Intercontinental Hotel benefitting the Senate Majority PAC, according to the White House.

Created by former Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Executive Director Jim Jordan and Monica Dixon, a former aide to Al Gore, the political action committee banked some $42 million to support Democratic Senate candidates last cycle.

{mosads}The appearance is a tacit admission that the White House has been able to do little to stem the rising influence of outside political groups, which can solicit unlimited donations from large-dollar donors.

In his 2010 State of the Union address, Obama memorably blasted the Supreme Court for a decision that allowed for the rise of the outside groups.

“With all due deference to separation of powers, last week the Supreme Court reversed a century of law that I believe will open the floodgates for special interests — including foreign corporations — to spend without limit in our elections,”

Obama said. “I don’t think American elections should be bankrolled by America’s most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign entities; they should be decided by the American people.”

But since then, Obama has gradually moved to embrace the groups.

In 2012, Obama endorsed fundraising by Priorities USA, an outside super-PAC staffed by former aides assisting his reelection campaign. Although Obama himself did not fundraise for the group, aides did appear on his behalf.

“With so much at stake, we can’t allow for two sets of rules in this election whereby the Republican nominee is the beneficiary of unlimited spending and Democrats unilaterally disarm,” Obama campaign manager Jim Messina said at the time.

And White House aides earlier this year said that in addition to fundraising for Senate Majority PAC, Obama will also attend events for House Majority PAC — a similar group assisting Democrats in the lower chamber.

Tuesday’s event is one of three fundraisers Obama will attend while in New York. He’s also slated to deliver remarks at the Democratic National Committee’s LGBT Gala and attend a closed-door fundraiser for the DNC at the home of Vogue editor Anna Wintour.