Barack Obama Cracks Jokes At George Clooney's $40,000-A-Plate Fundraiser

George Clooney hosted a $40,000-a-plate fundraiser for President Barack Obama at his Los Angeles home Thursday, May 10.

The event, which reportedly took place in a decked out tent at Clooney's L.A. mansion, included 150 of George's closest and richest friends, not to mention a Clooney roast by the Commander in Chief himself.

While Barack Obama and George Clooney's relationship is known to be one based on common politics, the two seem to share a friendship that is reminiscent of two average Joes.

According to TMZ, as Obama took the stage, he started off by bringing up his famous image from the Hope poster ... which was taken when he was sitting next to Clooney at an event in 2008.

This is the first time that George Clooney has ever been photo-shopped out of a picture, Obama joked ... adding, Never happened before, never happen again.

Obama then thanked the crowd for their contributions ... saying, We raised a lot of money because people love George ... they like me; they love George.

Then came even more praise, according to TMZ -- [George] seems to occupy a constant state of grace, and uses his extraordinary talents on behalf of something truly important.

Let it suffice to say that Barack Obama thinks highly of Clooney, whose fundraiser collected a total of $15 Million in donations for the Obama campaign.

Obama even touched on his recent decision to support gay marriage, saying that it was a logical extension of what America is supposed to be.

It grew directly out of this difference in visions, Obama explained. Are we a country that includes everybody and gives everybody a shot and treats everybody fairly? Does that make us strong? I believe it does.

Food for the event was catered by Wolfgang Puck. The celebrity chef served up artichoke salad followed by roasted duckling Peking style with tiny buns, a duo of lamb and beef cheek with potatoes and Brussels sprouts, and sweet corn tortelloni, according to TMZ.

Other celebrity guests at the fundraiser included Tobey Maguire, Barbra Streisand, Salma Hayek, Robert Downey Jr. and Jack Black, among many others, reports Us Weekly.