A Little of the Old In and Out



(image via yale)

In: Hollywood and The Clintons. In his final days as Commander-in-Chief, all manner of rumor attached itself to Bill Clinton regarding a post-Presidential sojourn in Hollywood. In retrospect, through lucrative and balmy in clime, that particular glitzy precinct wouldn't be very conducive to the resuscitation of legacy of the embattled statesman.

At the time, though, everything from an executive position at that most excellent of studios, Dreamworks, to an Oprah-like talk show venue were openly conjectured about in Tinseltown. Clinton elected not to take the bait. Nowadays, intriguingly, it appears that Bill Clinton's ambitions lie definitively in achieving the thankless position of Secretary General of the UN. He'll have to win back The House of Representatives and the Presidency for his party for that invitation, though.

Still, Hollywood loves the Clinton's. This week's fund raiser proved who's the established frontrunner of the Democratic Party. Senator Clinton, that's who. Senator Evan Bayh's fascinating achievement of what amounts to a good "mini-buzz" in Tinseltown is nothing ... nothing compared to Senator Hillary's (But it is mildly impressive for an Indiana Senator with charisma deficits). Witness what the Los Angeles Times has to say of Hillary breeze through town this week at events like the party at Warner Bros. President Alan Horn's crib:

"Conservatives may strive to portray New York Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as a polarizing figure, but she unified Hollywood Democratic political donors at a series of fundraisers that netted an estimated $1 million in a single evening, hosts estimated Thursday.

"In an industry where Democrats still like to describe themselves as in recovery from the reelection of Republican President Bush, the Clinton California swing this week was clearly a shot in the arm and spurred the inevitable talk of a possible presidential bid.

"From a $1,000-per-person soiree at the home of Warner Bros. chief Alan Horn to a late-night Young Hollywood shindig co-hosted by such performers as Christina Aguilera, Scarlett Johansson and Jake Gyllenhaal, organizers of the Wednesday night events had to turn away aspiring guests.

"One dinner at the home of radio syndication billionaire Norm Pattiz was expected to bring in $450,000 for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, organizers said. Clinton appeared at the event with Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.)."

While bringing in the bacon for the Party is an excellent way for a Junior Senator to wield power at breakneck speed and forgo seniority, "fund raising duty" is an extremely dangerous course of action. Party fund raisers are targets. Has there been, in recent memory at least, any aggressive party fund-raiser that hasn't gone down in flames? We urge supreme caution and a heavy-vetting process on every check written to the DNC.

Out:Eccentric Meatstuffs. What is it about Karl Lagerfeld and the penchant for unusual "meat treats (No pun intended)"? First, he was all about the dietary virtues of extra-lean "horsemeat," now Karl kicks it up a level in unpleasantness with ... disguised duck liver. According to those intrepid Page Sixxies:

"IMAGINE biting into a cloud of cotton candy expecting the sweet sugar to melt in your mouth, and instead chewing into squishy lumps of duck liver. 'I almost puked,' said one long-legged beauty at the launch of Dom Perignon '98 hosted by Chanel designer Karl ('Kaiser') Lagerfeld.