By GINGER ADAMS OTIS
June 1, 2008
With only three primaries and a handful of delegates between Barack Obama and his Democratic dream, the Illinois senator is planning a blowout bash for Tuesday night.
Obama has booked the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. - a massive venue that will host this summer's Republican National Convention - and Obama's decision to hold what may be his nomination victory party there sends a symbolic message to the GOP.
"It's the place where John McCain will accept the nomination. It's a good place for us to kick off the next phase of the campaign," Robert Gibbs, Obama's communications director, told The Associated Press.
Obama's team is also working furiously to line up additional uncommitted superdelegate endorsements - signaling his desire to seal the deal that night.
The Democratic Party this weekend amped up an effort to fill party coffers for the presumptive nominee's run against John McCain, with Al Gore headlining a Central Park South fund-raiser last night.
On Wednesday, Obama is the featured guest at a DNC fund-raiser at the Manhattan home of Janet Hartley and Ralph Schlosstein, two former Carter-administration officials. Tickets for both events run $28,500 a person.
Additional reporting by Kathianne Boniello
gotis@nypost.com
