Posted on 12/26/2002 3:23:21 AM PST by Dallas
WASHINGTON - With Al Gore bowing out of the bidding for the Democratic nomination last week, Hollywood is turning its full attention to 2004 presidential hopefuls John Kerry and John Edwards -- in that order.
Even with 9/11 and the faltering economy, the stream of Dems visiting Hollywood to fund-raise for their party or themselves never really slowed. Kerry, the sophisticated U.S. senator from Massachusetts, has been spotted about the town the most, with Edwards close behind.
Just last week, Kerry met with Stanley Sheinbaum, who is something of a Democrat kingmaker in Hollywood circles, and other prominent local Dems at the Regency Club. And at a cocktail party hosted by Daphna Edwards, Kerry kicked off a 30-minute speech with the emphatic statement "I am running for president."
The decisiveness of his tone was not lost on attendees, among them real estate titan Eli Broad, Gov. Gray Davis and an array of top actors and celebs.
Neither Kerry nor Edwards has Clinton's incredible dynamism -- nor his lapses into scandal.
Kerry, 59, boasts more is the more statuesque candidate and is earning marks from liberal Dems in Hollywood for speaking out against President Bush without sounding shrill.
"Kerry is working hard, he's operational, he's focused," said former California Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg, who gives the Massachusetts senator the inside track. "My instinct tells me he's the one Hollywood will back."
Not everyone agrees. "I certainly wouldn't be looking to anybody who thought they were against the war and then voted for it," said actress Susan Sarandon, referring, among others, to Kerry.
"I want someone with some courage to vote for their issues," she added. "We're tired of people voting to protect their careers."
Sentiment is split as to whether the 49-year-old Edwards, with a folksy North Carolina drawl, is ready to run in '04. His advantage is that he's got a youthful persona and hasn't been on Capitol Hill that long. Ergo, he doesn't have a lot of baggage.
If there's one thing most agree on, it is that the entertainment community won't ultimately throw its collective support behind Sen. Joseph Lieberman. The reason is his continuing charge that Hollywood intentionally polluting America's children with violent, salacious images and words.
Lieberman, 61, isn't wasting any time in making showbiz a campaign issue, as he did when running as Gore's VP in the ill-fated 2000 presidential contest. Just before Christmas, Lieberman called for congressional hearings on violent vidgames.
The voting electorate always loves a dark horse, and one surprise Democratic candidate may be Col. Wesley Clarke. The former NATO supreme commander has wowed CNN audiences with his gentle and easy-to-understand analysis. He's also incredibly ambitious.
Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, a 54-year-old doctor, is the most liberal of those considering a run for the Democratic nomination. He is openly critical of Democrats who act like moderate Republicans, an argument that is likely to resonate with many Hollywood Dems. Some political mavens have called him a version of past presidential hopeful John Anderson.
No one seems jazzed about a bid by Rep. Richard Gephardt, the top U.S. House of Reps. solon who took plenty of heat after the Republican sweep in the November midterm election. There have been numerous Hollywood fund-raisers for Gephardt, whose resignation as House minority leader was a sure sign of a presidential run.
It's also remains uncertain whether outgoing Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle will make a bid for the White House.
"It's a wide-open field, but there's nobody perfect yet," said Torie Osborn, executive director of the Liberty Hill Foundation, which functions as something of a rallying point for the Dems' left wing in Los Angeles.
Myth has it that Hollywood is the country's campaign contribution capital, and that the fate of the Democratic Party rests in the hands of showbiz. In reality, there are industries that contribute far more than showbiz to campaign coffers, but political support offered up by celebs and studio moguls receive far greater publicity.
He might come down with Giuliani's disease, and afterwards make a great recovery. -Tom
Thank you. Unfortunately, my uncanny carpentry skills come at the expense of having to study the b*tch for years. Yuk.
All depends on how bad Kerry an Edwards stack up against Bush.
If the bitch see's daylight, it's off to the races!
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