S.J. CAHN
A quick history lesson this week.
In late October 1992, the Pacific Amphitheatre was rocking and
rolling, but not for any band. Bill Clinton, then just a governor and
the "Comeback Kid," ventured into Republican territory as he sought
to unseat the first President Bush.
Fast forward to August 1996. Clinton's challenger four years
later, Sen. Bob Dole, made a similar appearance in his failed attempt
to unseat Clinton.
Then try June 2000. In a relatively clandestine visit, Hillary
Clinton whisked her way onto Lido Isle for a $50,000 fundraiser
before 45 people. The Pilot described the scene:
"A handful of residents paraded around the street, hoping to catch
a glimpse of Clinton and shake her hand. But with Newport Beach
police and Secret Service agents standing guard on either end of Via
Venezia, curious residents didn't stand a chance.
Officials closed off the street to anyone who didn't live on it,
declaring it a 'protective zone.'
Still, some people stood on the street corner for two hours, just
to catch a glimpse of her.
'Just one click. That's all I want,' said Joann Clark, who raced
around with her friend, Connie Modnick."
With it was a picture of a waving Clinton, shot from the balcony
of a nearby home.
Three months later, candidate George W. Bush swept through town,
too. After a day of campaigning in Orange County, he dined at an
unidentified Harbor Island home.
"Among those expected to turn out are Fuentes, representatives
from the Republican national party, Newport Beach City Council
candidate Steve Bromberg, and representatives for Rep. Christopher
Cox (R-Newport Beach), Assemblywoman Marilyn Brewer and state Sen.
Ross Johnson," the Pilot reported.
Usually, Newport-Mesa is the place to be during presidential
campaigns.
(Heck, in May 2003, special prosecutor Kenneth Starr of
Whitewater/Clinton impeachment fame came though the area and spoke at
a luncheon hosted by the California Republican Lawyers Assn.)
This year, we've seen next to nothing. Depending on your leanings,
you might even say we've seen less than nothing.
The Democratic vice presidential candidate, Sen. John Edwards, did
appear at the Balboa Bay Club for a $1,000-a-plate lunch. But he
breezed through with only a minutes-long speech. And the wife of
Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry, Teresa Heinz Kerry,
made a stop in Irvine.
But the GOP was more N-O-T in the community this year.
And that, I think, we can attribute to the changed political
