Democratic fundraiser Sim Farar, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's Hollywood foot soldier, is a busy man these days. With the '08 presidential race now underway, he's working three cellphones, especially the one he calls "the money phone."
"Dame Elizabeth Taylor was the first to call," he says proudly. She gave Clinton the maximum individual donation: $2,300.
Not everyone is so committed. For example, Steven Spielberg is helping host a fundraiser for Sen. Barack Obama's presidential exploratory committee next month with fellow DreamWorks founders David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg. But, like many in Hollywood, he's hedging his bets, hinting that he'll also lend support to former Sen. John Edwards and Clinton (who announced this week that she was joining the presidential race).
Farar, a tenacious pitchman, is optimistic that the undecideds will come around to Clinton -- if not now, eventually.
"Our doors are always wide open," says Farar, pausing a moment to take a personal call from longtime friend Tony Rodham, Clinton's brother. "I'm talking to studio people, stars, producers, agents...."
Another phone rings.
"It's the money phone," says Farar, 60. "Call ya back...."
The last two weeks, with Clinton joining the race and Obama considering a run, have had the intensity of an election's homestretch, when relationships are consummated, rather than the languorous courtship of a primary campaign.
Committed politicos, such as Farar, are pulling out all the stops at an extraordinarily early point in this election cycle not only because the '08 Democratic field is so full, but also because major states where campaigning is expensive are angling to advance their primaries. (If the Legislature has its say, California's presidential primary will be held next February.)
That means pressure to raise money is particularly intense in the entertainment industry, where Democrats rely on high-wattage star power to bring in major donors here and elsewhere in the country.
It seems everyone here wants to be part of the game, but few want to take sides just yet. "You'll see people supporting multiple candidates," says political consultant Donna Bojarsky.
And there are a number of reasons for that:
The Clintons have enjoyed a long-standing relationship with the entertainment industry, with strong ties dating back to the days when Bill Clinton was still governor of Arkansas. Although some major players have some misgivings about Hillary Clinton's presidential bid -- they don't like her record on the war and they worry that she's too polarizing -- they don't want to go against the Clinton political machine.
