Batman, Spider-man, Iron Man guard Obama at fundraiser

NEW YORK (Reuters) - At George Clooney's celebrity-studded fundraiser for President Barack Obama's re-election campaign, the joke of the night was that the Secret Service was backed up by Batman, Spider-Man and the Iron Man - or at least the actors who played them.

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Karen Blutcher, who won a lottery to attend the fundraiser after contributing $14, described the dinner on Thursday night as the opportunity of a lifetime.

She also confessed to being star-struck by the presence of Hollywood royalty including Tobey Maguire, who played Spider-Man, and Iron Man's Robert Downey Jr. Clooney played Batman in the 1997 film "Batman and Robin."

"I think amazing probably isn't a strong enough word, but it was an amazing opportunity to meet George Clooney and Barack Obama on the same night," said Blutcher, 45, who lives in St. Augustine, Florida, and works for a public utility company.

Blutcher, who wore a gold strapless dress for the occasion, described Clooney's California mansion as "warm and cozy" and said the actor bantered with the president about basketball. It was Clooney who made the superheroes joke, as he and Obama gathered around Blutcher and her husband for a photo, she said.

Asked about Mitt Romney, the Republican who will face Obama in the November election, Blutcher declined to give her opinion, but described herself as an enthusiastic Obama supporter.

(Reporting By Edith Honan; Editing by Greg McCune and Todd Eastham)