The American Spectator

p> IN THE HOPPER br> North Carolina lame duck Sen. John Edwards pulled down about $120,000 on Wednesday night in Venice Beach, California, during a fundraiser in the loft of Easy Rider star Dennis Hopper . /p>

Edwards’ presidential campaign staff had been hoping to rake in more than $200,000 at the $1,000 or more per head event, but blamed the fires burning down the coast for the lower attendance.

Perhaps they should also blame the scorchingly hot candidacy of Howie Dean as well.

Several celebrities billed as “co-hosts” of the Edwards event pulled a no-show, even though they were in the Los Angeles area on Wednesday night. The buzz in La-La land is that in the past month, i.e., since the Hopper event was planned, those thought loyal to Edwards jumped on the Dean bandwagon.

“I won’t embarrass anyone by naming names, but we know that we have at least two of Edwards’ Hollywood backers now in our camp,” says a Dean volunteer in Los Angeles. “We have fundraisers upcoming down here, and you’ll see. Hollywood loves Governor Dean.

At least Edwards was entertaining during his visit with Hopper and friends. In a 15 minute speech, the senator told the small, if enthusiastic, gathering that President Bush’s only desire was to further the interests of the wealthy at the expense of the middle class.