It's a good thing you didn't drop $40,000 on a seat at Sarah Jessica Parker's fund-raiser for President Obama because the event was disappointingly refined. For that kind of money, the 50 guests should have been treated to scenes of co-host Anna Wintour dressing down the cleaning lady for her improper Swiffering technique, but the biggest news to come out of the party is that the president inflated the attendees' already-bursting egos a bit more. "You're the tie-breaker," he said. "You're the ultimate arbiter of which direction this country goes." (Also, Matthew Broderick skipped the presidential fund-raiser that took place in his own house because he's starring in the show Nice Work If You Can Get It. Presumably, we'll learn all about the ensuing spousal showdown in this week's In Touch.) 
 
 Outside, it was a different story. 

 President Barack Obama paid a visit to "Sex and the City" star Sarah Jessica Parker's house for a star-studded, high-dollar fundraiser on Thursday. 
 
 Co-hosting with Vogue editor Anna Wintour, Parker said the guests gathered "hopefully, with enormous enthusiasm." 
 
 Parker also praised first lady Michelle Obama, calling her "our radiant and extraordinary first lady” and said she had been doing “amazingly important things these last 4 years.” 
 
 
 
 (Also on POLITICO: Top 5 Obama Celebrity Fundraisers) 
 
 Parker's husband, actor Matthew Broderick, could not attend the fundraiser. “Matthew had a show,” Obama explained. 
 
 Other notable celebrity attendees included Bravo's Andy Cohen, actress Meryl Streep and fashion designer Michael Kors. 
 
 During Obama's stump speech, Parker's young son interrupted Obama with applause. 
 
 “He wanted to fire up the crowd,” Obama joked. 
 
 “He knows an applause line,” Cohen said, roaring. “Right on cue!” 
 
 Approximately 50 guests attended the fundraiser, paying $40,000 for the evening. The only exception was Robin Hunt, a project administrator at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, who won the monthly Obama campaign win-a-dinner contest. 

 Meryl Streep, Project Runway host Michael Kors, Vogue's Anna Wintour and Bravo's Andy Cohen were among the famous faces who attended a fundraiser for President Obama held Thursday at Sarah Jessica Parker's Manhattan home. 
 
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 Parker introduced Obama at the event, giving him a hug and kiss and saying those in attendance were gathered "hopefully, with enormous enthusiasm." She also called first lady Michelle Obama "radiant and extraordinary" and said she had been doing "amazingly important things these last four years." 
 
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 In his remarks, Obama said that Parker's husband, Matthew Broderick, wasn't in attendance because of his starring role in Broadway's Nice Work If You Can Get It. He noted the Obamas are "great friends" with Parker and Broderick. (The actress sat by Michelle Obama at the event and recently appeared in a campaign ad for the president.) 
 
 Obama also joked that he is the fifth or sixth in the "hierarchy in the White House," behind the first lady, their two daughters, their dog Bo and his mother-in-law. He also quipped that the fundraiser marked the couple's "date night." 
 
 But it wasn't all light-hearted at the event. In his remarks, Obama criticized the Republican presidential campaign ads, which he said argue that Americans are frustrated and discouraged and that "it's the fault of the guy in the White House. It's an elegant message; it happens to be wrong. But it's crisp. You can fit it on a bumper sticker." 
 
 VIDEO: Sarah Jessica Parker's Ad for Obama 
 
 He added: “We’ve got as fundamental a choice this time out than we have had in 30, 40 or 50 years. What we are going to have to do is present very clearly to the American people that choice." 
 
 Obama also listed his accomplishments and health care and said he remains committed to investing in science and technology efforts. 
 
 “That’s why I’m running for a second term, because our work is not yet done," he said. 
 
 Obama added that the economy is recovering because of the determination of Americans. 
 
 “Because of their resilience, we’ve begun to come back,” he said. 
 
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 After Obama noted that "GM is now back on top," Parker's young son began clapping. 
 
 "He wanted to fire up the crowd," Obama quipped. 
 
 Added Cohen: “He knows an applause line. Right on cue!” 
 
 Guests at the event sat at two long tables in two long rooms, with the dividing doors open. Flowers and votives adorned the tables in the home, which was decorated with ample art, floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and two large marble fireplaces. 
 
 Following the event at Parker's home, Obama is attending a fundraiser hosted by Mariah Carey at New York's Plaza Hotel.
– Aretha Franklin paid the $40,000 ticket price to attend Sarah Jessica Parker's Obama fundraiser last night, but left after just 20 minutes. That means she spent $2,000 per minute to be there, TMZ helpfully calculates. Apparently it was worth it, because she described the food ("chicken with a mustard sauce, diced tomatoes, and lots of relishes on the side of the plate") as "very tasty." In an entertaining response on Gawker, Caity Weaver wonders, "Do you think Sarah Jessica Parker fretted and fretted over the menu before convincing herself (incorrectly) that, since Obama probably eats fancy food all the time, what he'd really enjoy is her famous 'Chicken a la Mustard with a lot of relishes on the side'?" The fundraiser, co-hosted by Anna Wintour, was attended by all sorts of other boldface names, Politico notes, including Meryl Streep and designer Michael Kors but not including SJP's husband Matthew Broderick, who was performing in a Broadway show, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Their son was there, however, and once interrupted the president with applause, leading Obama to joke, "He wanted to fire up the crowd." Another amusing story, per the New York Post: Wintour was apparently not happy with SJP's "shabby chic" furniture, and thus oversaw a total overhaul of her house before the fundraiser began. Daily Intel rounds up tweets describing the mayhem outside the fundraiser.