Spielberg Turns Spotlight on Clinton

Is the Hollywood flirtation with Sen. Barack Obama beginning to fade?

One indicator came yesterday, as director Steven Spielberg endorsed Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Spielberg, of course, co-hosted the David Geffen fundraiser for Obama earlier this year -- triggering a wave of speculation at the time that many in the entertainment industry, like Geffen, saw too much baggage in the Clinton candidacy.

Now, though, after donating to Obama, John Edwards and Clinton, Spielberg says he is solidly with the senator from New York. His spokesman, Andy Spahn, said Spielberg made up his mind after several recent conversations with Clinton.

Might Spielberg shoot an advertisement for Clinton?

"There hasn't been any discussion about the next steps," said Spahn, who said Spielberg is about to go into production on a new movie. But, he said, he "will certainly consider requests from the campaign in the months ahead."

-- Anne E. Kornblut

Another Abortion Spat

Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney crossed swords on the GOP campaign trail yesterday after McCain's campaign circulated a 2005 video showing Romney affirming his support of his state's abortion rights laws.

As a presidential candidate, Romney has distanced himself from positions he outlined in Massachusetts favoring abortion rights and now says he opposes them.

"As governor, I am absolutely committed to my promise to maintain the status quo with regards to laws relating to abortion and choice, and so far I've been able to successfully do that," Romney says in the video, which was taped at a May 27, 2005, news conference about Romney's veto of a bill to expand embryonic stem cell research. "And, my personal, philosophical views about this issue are not something that I think would do anything other than distract from what I think is a more critical agenda."

Matt David, a McCain campaign spokesman, attacked Romney. "Mitt Romney's biggest challenge in this election will be convincing Republicans he has principled positions on important issues, especially now that it's known that he remained committed to pro-choice policies after his 'epiphany' on abortion in 2004," David said. He added that McCain has a consistent record opposing abortion.