Obama's Martha's Vineyard bash has killed DC parties: Democrats and embassies are scaling back soirées to avoid PR disasters following backlash over his star-studded, super-spreader party

President Obama's 60th birthday bash and the fierce backlash it amassed has dampened the mood on partying in Washington. 

Though the former president required Covid testing and vaccinations to attend the lavish fête, the event was deemed to be in poor taste amid the rampant spread of the Delta variant of Covid-19, and others are weary not to make their own PR blunder.  

'Over the last 11 years I've probably gone to 2,000 parties, and suddenly they've all come to a screeching halt because of overwrought fears that your event is going to  become the next super-spreader' covered by the media, John Arundel, former associate publisher of Washington Life magazine and managing director of Perdicus Communications, told DailyMail.com. 

'There was a bit of hysteria over that Obama birthday party,' Arundel said, 'I do sense a chilling effect.'   

Hundreds of people, including many Hollywood A-listers, attended Obama's birthday bash last Saturday, flying in from around the country and congregating under tents where partiers danced, ate and drank the night away on his estate on Martha's Vineyard. 

The former president, with much fanfare, announced shortly before the big day he was 'scaling back' his party from its originally planned headcount of 500 to only family and close friends, but a  staffer working the event told DailyMail.com that there were still 300-400 in attendance. 

So far 74 people have tested positive for Covid-19 on Martha's Vineyard since the Obama bash, though it's not clear if any cases were linked to the party. Still, the spike in cases is more than any week since April on Martha's Vineyard. 

Weeks ago, the nation's capital was back in business, with embassies opening their doors to gatherings with hundreds of people.  

Obama was caught on video dancing maskless at the bash on Martha's Vineyard for his 60th birthday 

The former president had large tents over set up ahead of his bash. The spike in cases is more than any week since April on Martha's Vineyard

Barack Obama, Michelle Obama and what appears to be close friends and family have brunch at Beach Road in Vineyard Haven, MA, which is on Martha's Vineyard

Barack Obama, Michelle Obama and what appears to be close friends and family have brunch at Beach Road in Vineyard Haven, MA, which is on Martha's Vineyard

The Hill's editor at large Steve Clemons, French Ambassador Phillipe Étienne and lobbyist Heather Podesta were set to host an elaborate gathering at the French embassy in September, but have now pushed back to November, according to Politico Playbook. 

Obama's party 'created an awareness,' Clemons told Politico, especially 'when you see so many Americans struggling with , and hospitals filling up.' 

The social hesitancy is most prominent among Democrats.  

'What we could do six weeks ago, we can't do now,' said Democratic strategist Adrienne Elrod, the director of surrogate strategy for Biden's 2020 campaign. 'We have to be so cognizant because Republicans are looking for any reason to call us hypocrites or to call us liars.'

One House Democrat warned that Democrats can't let Republicans beat them out in fundraising and campaigning by getting caught in the optics of in-person gathering. 

'We can't hide under the bed if we want to win the midterms,' the member told Politico. 'Look at how many races we lost in 2018 by fewer than a thousand votes. We decided it was better to campaign by Zoom than knock on doors. The GOP didn't stay home, and our margins are thinner because of it.' 

But for the season's biggest fundraisers, the show must go on.  

The 'big question mark' was whether the Meridian Ball, one of the most prestigious yearly events in Washington that draws a crowd of power brokers from across the world, would move forward in its classic iteration. 

The ball, where attendees can purchase tickets for anywhere from $5,000 to $75,000, is always held on the third Friday in October. The ball is still set to go on Oct. 22, with a promise to abide by DC's mask mandate and other CDC guidelines. 

The city's other biggest fall galas - the National Symphony Orchestra Season Opening Gala, the Wolf Trap Gala and the Ambassador's Ball, will all be moving forward with extra precaution, some with masking, vaccination proof, holding the event outdoors and limiting attendance. 

The Obama party 'made a lot of these gala chairs basically sit up and take notice to advance precautions,' Arundel said. 

'It's heartening to see so many patrons adopting to the pandemic norm, instead of just abandoning causes that are important to them.