We’re reminded almost daily that we are in an economic crisis. We need to tighten our belts. We need to live more responsibly. We need to stop spending so much money.

Interestingly, though, Obama and his pals in D.C. have not been quite so quick to tighten their collective belt. First, we had the most expensive inauguration in history… taxpayer funded, of course. The temperature in the White House is cranked up to near greenhouse temperatures to keep it warm enough for our Hawaiian president. Then there are the weekly parties at the White House packed with celebs, featuring cocktails and $100/lb wagyu steak.

Celebrities, too, have been nonchalant about the economy. There haven’t been quite the calls to action or pleas for help the way there were during “exciting” crises, such as Hurricane Katrina or the tsunami.

And let’s not forget about Obama’s confusion about the difference between campaigning and governing. Apparently, it was important for him during this economic crisis to go and throw a DNC fundraiser in Hollywood that cost $30,400 per couple to attend.

President Obama arrived at a back-to-back fund-raising dinner and concert on Wednesday night and raised $4 million for the Democratic National Committee. He basked in the glow of his Hollywood supporters and thanked them for making his candidacy possible.

“If it weren’t for you,” Mr. Obama told a celebrity-filled crowd gathered at The Beverly Hilton, “we would not be in the White House.”

There was Jamie Foxx and Marissa Tomei, Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffth, Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg, and a long line of bold and not-so-bold names.

As Mr. Katzenberg introduced the president at his first California fund-raiser since taking office, he said: “If you look in the dictionary under ‘grace under fire,’ it will say Barack Obama.”

… The California economy is bleak. The state budget is crisis. And Democrats are riled up over a Supreme Court ruling this week that upheld the ban on gay marriage.

The president did not dwell on those matters during his remarks here Wednesday evening on the only stop of his quick trip to California. He gave himself a strong grade for the opening stretch of his time in office.

“I would put these first four months up against any prior administration since F.D.R,” Mr. Obama said. Later, he added: “I’m confident in the future, but I’m not yet content.”

… The people in the audience – who paid $30,400 per couple to attend – laughed as they ate a dinner of roasted tenderloin, grilled organic chicken and sun choke rosemary mashed potatoes.

If we’re in an economic crisis, then does Obama really have the time to be mingling with a group of Hollywood liberals who have really done absolutely nothing worthwhile with their lives? Shouldn’t he be focusing on more pressing issues like, I don’t know, preventing the destruction of the American economy??

But then, something like that would require actual governance. Obama’s too busy campaigning for reelection in 2012.