Al Gore thought the Democratic National Convention would be his quality time of a lifetime. He'd forgotten about Bill and Hillary's insatiable fund-raising appetites.

Instead of the convention, itself, being the big draw, the hot-ticket event has turned out to be the Saturday-night party to raise money for Hillary for Senate at a private swank Los Angeles estate – for 1,400 few close friends.

Paul Anka, Michael Bolton, Toni Braxton, Cher, Melissa Etheridge, Patti LaBelle, Brian McKnight, Diana Ross, Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray, Stevie Wonder, Luther Vandross, Ted Danson, Michael Douglas, Whoopi Goldberg, Goldie Hawn, Angelica Huston, Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Dylan McDermott, Rosa Parks, Gregory Peck, Jimmy Smits, Mary Steenburgen, John Travolta and Red Buttons.

Move Over and Let the Big Dogs Eat NewsMax.com Thursday, Aug. 10, 2000
http://archive.newsmax.com/articles/?a=2000/8/10/122308

The list of contributors to comedian Al Franken's political action committee reads like a celebrity who's who: singer Barbra Streisand, writer-director Nora Ephron, actor-writer Larry David and actor Jimmy Smits.

Franken, who hosts a radio show on the liberal Air America Radio network, is considering challenging Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., in 2008. Franken moved his show from New York City to Minneapolis earlier this year, fueling speculation of a possible bid.

Among the contributors to the PAC were actor Larry Hagman, directors Christopher Guest and Barry Levinson, and writers Harold Ramis and Aaron Sorkin.

From the NewsMax.com Staff For the story behind the story...
Friday, July 28, 2006 7:18 p.m. EDT Al Franken's PAC Packed with Stars
http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/7/28/191932.shtml?s=po

SACRAMENTO -- Californians rejected a $2.4 billion ballot measure on Tuesday that called for a tax on the wealthy to pay for preschool for all 4-year-olds in the state.

The "Preschool for All" measure called Proposition 82, best known for its star backer, liberal Hollywood director Rob Reiner, would have imposed a 1.7 percent tax on individual incomes over $400,000 and couples' incomes exceeding $800,000.

Reiner contributed $2.8 million to the effort. His wife and his father, comic Carl Reiner, pumped in another $1.8 million, helping pay for commercials featuring teachers who support preschool.

Supporters also turned to two TV presidents for help. Actors Martin Sheen and Jimmy Smits, who both occupied the fictional White House on "The West Wing," appeared in Los Angeles on behalf of the proposition.

Rob Reiner's Preschool Tax Initiative Fails in California
NewsMax.com Wires Wednesday, June 7, 2006
http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2006/6/7/112429.shtml