Presidential Hopefuls Wave the Rainbow Flag

11-08-2007 13:35

Where in the world was Ellen DeGeneres? She’s not obligated to attend every gay event, but it would have been nice to see a powerhouse like her at Hollywood's big gay issues forum last night with the Democratic presidential candidates.We hear the talk-show host and her girlfriend, Portia de Rossi, were in Los Angeles earlier in the day, but they skipped last night’s political get-together. DeGeneres' rep tells me she wasn't there because she had a "prior commitment."So, who was there? Neil Patrick Harris, Wilson Cruz, Jane Lynch, comedian Alec Mapa, producers Bruce Cohen and Max Mutchnick, writer-director Nora Ephron and political blogger Arianna Huffington. At one point, buzz circulated in the press room that Warren Beatty had requested a ticket. Turns out it was nothing more than a rumor.Melissa Etheridge was one of three panelists throwing questions at Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Bill Richardson, Mike Gravel and Dennis Kucinich. The other panelists included my old pal Jonathan Capehart, of The Washington Post, and Joe Solmonese, head of the Human Rights Campaign, which produced the forum along with gay television network Logo.Quips were flying around the press room. When someone noticed that Edwards was wearing socks that showed some bare skin, one reporter cracked, "Uh-oh. Wrong socks. He’s just lost the gay vote."As Clinton walked onstage wearing a salmon-pink jacket and matching necklace, a reporter joked, "Hillary’s gays got to her. She looks good."

Another guy in the pressroom chimed in that he was almost certain one man in the audience of about 200 was a former porn star.

After the forum, I hightailed it to gay bar the Abbey in West Hollywood for a Clinton fundraiser. Unfortunately, the fire marshals were not happy with the overcrowding. By the time press folk were being escorted from the hamburger joint across the street to the bar, someone from the fire marshal’s office shut the place down and was even threatening a Clinton staffer with arrest when he insisted we be let in.

It was time for me to go.

I headed east on Santa Monica Boulevard to Eleven Restaurant and Nightclub for Logo/Human Rights Campaign's official viewing and after-party. In the upper-level VIP area, I saw Cruz, former music industry lobbyist Hilary Rosen, financial guru and author Andrew Tobias, and candidate Gravel.