Hollywood figures battle one of their own

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Once upon a time, it was just the war in Iraq and the Bush administration that riled Hollywood's glittering left. Now they have a new enemy, and it's one of their own.

Arnold needs to check his back: Babs, Tom, Cybill, Susan, Al -- they may soon gang up on Mr. Schwarzenegger as his campaign for California governor takes on muscle and showtime grows nigh. He's got just 45 days to make his case before voters decide Oct. 7.

"I think it's entirely possible we'll see some celebrity political activity in the next few weeks," said Allan Mayer of Los Angeles-based Sitrick and Co., a public relations and crisis-management group that counts stars like Kim Basinger, David Duchovny and Halle Berry among its clients.

"But we'll need to distinguish between the anti-Arnold campaigns and the anti-recall campaigns," Mr. Mayer said. "There's a big difference."

The hubbub is not mere celebrity fluff, he said yesterday.

"This is not a Hollywood production. This is real politics, with legitimate issues," Mr. Mayer said. "It's easy to caricature this as just another Hollywood carnival. But this state has a long history of progressive politics which was embedded in Hollywood long before the recall."

Still, CNN has billed it the "Three Ring Recall."

Barbra Streisand and James Garner are among those who have donated money to the Sacramento-based grass-roots group Taxpayers Against the Governor's Recall, according to current records at the California Secretary of State's office. The anti-recall group has accrued $1.5 million in assorted donations.

Yesterday, Miss Streisand also posted Gov. Gray Davis' latest campaign speech at her Web site, though she has yet to post a personal statement.