Circa 2000
Hello, Los Angeles!
When Bill Clinton was exiting the White House and Al Gore was campaigning to win it, Los Angeles hosted the Democratic National Convention. Lucky me, I landed an assignment for US News and World Report and its Washington Whispers column. Covering a political convention had been a childhood dream of mine.
By day, I roamed the Staples Center where actors like Warren Beatty and Annette Benning sashayed, wearing Gore buttons and signing autographs. By night, I hit swanky hotspots on Sunset Boulevard where high-roller Democratic donors and stars drank, schmoozed, flirted, and fucked at private parties in locales that seemed ripped from the pages of a Jackie Collins’ novel.
One night, a middle-aged Arkansas couple I met earlier during the week approached me on the convention floor.
“We’ve hired a car to take us to a party that is being thrown two Democratic Party bigwigs, outside of Los Angeles,” the man said. “Would you like to join us?”
