Film director stumps for Howard Dean in Waterloo

wcfcourier ^ | 11/26/03 | CHARLOTTE EBY

[Pikamax]

Film director stumps for Howard Dean in Waterloo

By CHARLOTTE EBY, Courier Staff Writer

WATERLOO --- Hollywood actor-director Rob Reiner, who was in Waterloo Tuesday campaigning for Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean, is no stranger to caucus politics.

Reiner stumped in Iowa for Al Gore during the 2000 campaign and doesn't care much about the criticism of Hollywood types who contribute to political campaigns.

Besides, he said, Hollywood campaign contributors have been "neutered a little bit" by recent campaign finance reforms that set contribution limits of $2,000.

"There is no more soft money. Nobody can write big checks anymore," Reiner said.

He said Dean's fund raising, which far eclipsed the other eight Democratic candidates' fund-raising totals last quarter, showed support from donors who gave on average less than $80 each.

"That's not Hollywood; that's not big money; that's true grass-roots support," Reiner said.

Reiner met with activists Tuesday at the Waterloo home of Allen Hospital CEO Rick Seidler after appearing with Dean in Des Moines for a roll-out of Dean's "Invest for Success" early childhood development plan.

Reiner, who is the co-chairman of Dean's California campaign, said he finds Dean's honesty refreshing, and he believes Dean is the best candidate to beat President George W. Bush.

"When I met him, I was just struck by how different he was than other politicians I had met. He's very straightforward, very straight-talking, and he's honest," Reiner said.

Reiner, a star of the groundbreaking 1970s TV series "All in the Family," is known for directing such box-office hits as "When Harry Met Sally ...," "Stand By Me" and "A Few Good Men" and has been a longtime Democratic activist.

Reiner himself has been an advocate for children's issues, launching the national "I Am Your Child" campaign to raise awareness of the need for early childhood development programs.

He first met Dean at a conference 10 years ago when Dean was the governor of Vermont and said he was impressed with what Dean had accomplished on children's initiatives in his home state.

"It really does directly affect our society in a profound way, and no politician has ever been willing to make this investment," Reiner said.

Dean's "Invest for Success" initiative would commit $110 billion over 10 years to pay for community-based services that assist new parents and ready children for school.

It would offer a universal preschool program for every 4-year-old and double the investment in early Head Start as well as giving parents of 1.4 million children access to child care.

[Paul Atreides]

Just who Dean needs: someone who will be forever known as "Meathead."

[Paul Atreides]

Currently, on Drudge:

KERRY CONSIDERS BORROWING AGAINST HOME TO FINANCE CAMPAIGN... DEVELOPING...

[dagnabbit]

Too bad someone connected with "Spinal Tap" is such a putz.

[Mr. Buzzcut]

"Dead from the neck up".

[Frank_2001]

Once a Meathead, always a Meathead.

[bootyist-monk]

Right now, Reiner finds himself in "movie jail". That is where directors who can no longer deliver hits go to cool their heals. Meathead's last successful film was "The American President" (1995), and that only did respectable numbers.

Since the monumental disaster that was "North" (1994), Reiner has pushed out one turd after another: "Ghosts of Mississippi" (1996), "The Story of Us" (1999) and this year's mega-bomb, "Alex and Emma" (2003).

Expect to see a lot more of him on the campaign trail, as the studios are doing what they can to keep him away from the cameras.