Warren Buffett plans Chicago fundraiser for Obama

Warren Buffett, who has a featured role in the policy case for the White House’s new deficit-reduction plan, is also scheduled to help boost President Obama’s reelection coffers at a Chicago fundraiser next month, his campaign confirmed Wednesday.

The so-called Oracle of Omaha, Buffett has long been an Obama supporter and financial backer, dating back to his 2008 campaign.

The Chicago event, at a private residence on the North Shore, is set for Oct. 27. Buffett is also on tap for an event Sept. 30 in New York; neither will feature the president.

The “Buffett Rule” was the centerpiece of Obama’s deficit-reduction plan, announced Monday. It’s not a specific legislative proposal, but rather a principle Obama wants lawmakers to observe as they consider tax reform -- that no one earning more than $1 million a year should be taxed at a lower rate than middle-income households.

It’s based on Buffett’s contention, outlined in a New York Times opinion piece in August, that he should not have a lower tax burden than his lower-salaried staff. (Republicans have observed that Buffett is free to write a check to the Treasury any time he wishes to make up for that disparity).

Obama presented Buffett with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in February.