Pubdate: Sun, 23 Jul 2000 Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA) Copyright: 2000 San Jose Mercury News Contact: 750 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, CA 95190 Fax: (408) 271-3792 Website: http://www.sjmercury.com/ Author: Russ Baker, New York Times A JOURNEY TO THE LEFT LOS ANGELES -- Political insiders may debate the motivations behind the latest evolutionary twist in the remarkable life of Arianna Huffington, but one thing is certain: Huffington understands the element of surprise. She stood by her desk in her elegant, sun-dappled home office on a perfect Southern California morning early last week, talking about her latest and indisputably biggest adventure. Up on a landing a library wall panel swung open, revealing a hidden room. A young woman popped out, and then a second entered from another part of the house. ``How many people can you fit in a Volkswagen?'' Huffington said delightedly in her Greek-with-a-touch-of-London accent, as she settled into a gold brocade sofa. Huffington explained that she had converted a guest bedroom off the landing into an office for the two staff members and the handful of paid interns helping her and a coalition of citizens' groups stage a happening certain to give fits to Vice President Al Gore and Texas Gov. George W. Bush -- a milestone of sorts on Huffington's dizzying political journey from right to left. This summer, as the Republican and Democratic parties hold their national conventions in Philadelphia and Los Angeles, Huffington and the Internet impresario Peter Hirshberg aim to ``give voice to millions of Americans currently shut out of the national debate.'' Huffington has managed to harness herself and her unusual ability to generate buzz on three issues whose solutions have eluded Democrats and Republicans alike: the tainted campaign finance system, the growing income gap and the costly war on drugs. Huffington has proven expert at getting attention for causes -- including herself -- during a varied career as socialite, politician's wife, author and columnist. To publicize the second or ``shadow'' conventions that will highlight her pet concerns, she called on media favorites like Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. She joined with citizen advocacy groups like Common Cause, and tapped her friends, including actors Warren Beatty and Ron Silver and comedian Bill Maher. She helped raise $400,000 in seed money from such disparate sources as billionaire philanthropist George Soros' non-profit Open Society Institute and the Pew Charitable Trust, and got promises of ice cream from Ben & Jerry's. ``She's providing fresh and new ideas in a very thoughtful and very provocative way,'' McCain said. Others are more skeptical. ``It's easy for someone who has maids making her beds to talk about voiceless Americans,'' said Bob Mulholland, a California Democratic Party official. People may argue about why a former right-wing conservative, who once counted herself among Newt Gingrich's most loyal friends and admirers, is now encouraging her troops to lob grenades at the establishment. But no one can dispute that this is one determined woman. Her background Huffington's life has been one of constant motion, and regular reinvention. Born Arianna Stassinopoulos, she grew up in modest circumstances in and around Athens, became a stellar debater at Cambridge and soon wrote her first book, a critique of feminism, and a second, prescribing a spiritual revolution as an antidote to an empty, materialistic society. She landed in New York in 1980, and wrote a controversial best seller about the opera legend Maria Callas and then a harsh denunciation of Picasso. While living in California, she was introduced by socialite Ann Getty to Michael Huffington, the shy son of a self-made oil millionaire, and they married and settled in Washington. Although dismissed by some as a gold digger, Huffington showed resourcefulness when it became apparent that Michael Huffington's income as an arms-control negotiator for President George Bush was insufficient to support their lifestyle and that his real worth was bound up in stock in the family firm. She went on the lecture circuit to pay the bills for their Georgetown home and staff. In 1992, Michael Huffington won a seat in the House from Santa Barbara. Within two years, he had made a bid for the Senate, spending nearly $30 million of his own money in a failed effort against Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein. The seemingly reticent candidate often seemed overshadowed by his dynamic wife, who virtually directed the vitriolic campaign. Arianna Huffington turned her attention to her column, cheerleading for the conservative Contract With America and becoming a power hostess. Television beckoned. Between frequent spots on ``Politically Incorrect,'' she started her own think tank, the Center for Effective Compassion. It stressed private charity, rather than government aid, for helping the poor. The group fizzled, and so did her marriage. Michael Huffington revealed his homosexuality in a 1999 Esquire profile. Three years ago, the Huffingtons relocated to separate houses in Los Angeles. Political about-face In California, her views shifted leftward. Soon, as in Washington, her home became a salon. The Capitol Hill and think tank types were replaced by Beatty and Pat Caddell, a Jimmy Carter pollster and now a consultant for television's ``West Wing.'' Huffington's new crowd is a whole lot more left, filled, for example, with correspondents for the Nation magazine, who have been openly squabbling with colleagues over whether Huffington's change of heart is to be trusted. Robert Scheer, the liberal Los Angeles Times columnist who has been a regular sparring partner of Huffington in print and on radio for years, said: ``If Arianna were a man, there would be no attacks on her whatsoever. Sure, she's shifted her views. Sure, she's inconsistent. Sure, she likes to be on TV. But I find her one of the brightest, most decent and hardest-working people involved in media.'' - --- MAP posted-by: Don Beck