H'w'd, politics make heavenly match

California ruling brings same-sex wedding blitz

By TED JOHNSON

When John McCain visited Ellen DeGeneres' show May 22, there was little doubt the daytime talk host would steer their conversation toward the elephant in the room: the subject of gay marriage.

It had been less than a week since the California state Supreme Court paved the way for same-sex marriage and DeGeneres almost immediately announced her engagement to Portia de Rossi, while McCain issued a statement chiding the judges for their ruling.

"It just seems like there is this old way of thinking that we are not all the same," DeGeneres said to the Republican nominee, who seemed to be bracing himself in his seat.

Once again, DeGeneres is in the spotlight over her sexual orientation. But the circumstances are far different from those a decade ago, when she came out of the closet on her sitcom and appeared on the cover of Time with the headline, "Yep, I'm gay."

This time, she is stepping into a pitched battle with national ramifications that extend to the presidential race.

While same-sex weddings are expected to begin in California in June, the celebrations could be short-lived. A California constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage -- heavily financed by James Dobson's Colorado-based evangelical group Focus on the Family -- is expected to land on the November ballot.

Pro-gay marriage groups are amassing a war chest, plotting strategy, testing their message and mobilizing Hollywood support -- both financial and endorsements. They're hoping Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who opposes the marriage ban and even has been musing about the economic boom that might come to the state with so many weddings on the horizon, will take part in the campaign against the ballot measure.

But there's nothing like the weddings themselves to help sway public opinion. Hollywood figures and their attendant publicity will surely magnify the issue as they walk down the aisle.

George Takei, of "Star Trek" fame, last week announced his engagement. Publicist Howard Bragman, appearing on CNN Headline News' "Showbiz Tonight," said he was getting hitched, and he says he's since been "inundated" with offers of such things as "party planning for free."

"I feel like Star Jones," he quips.

DeGeneres may rein in just how vocal she gets, especially on her show. But the mere fact of her marriage already is inspiring a frenzy of tabloid press and speculation.

As Geoff Kors, exec director of Equality California, one of the groups leading the gay marriage effort, says, "When you have a beloved celebrity getting married and the whole world watching it, it will have an impact. Come November, I don't think voters will want to see Ellen's marriage taken away."

When it comes to politics, DeGeneres has a lighter touch than say, Rosie O'Donnell, and that's why she can be effective. She can perhaps "humanize the issue" -- to use a common buzz phrase -- to an audience that others cannot. She draws a slightly older audience in middle America. Her talkshow's median age is 50.1, and it rates highest in smaller markets like Indianapolis, Wilkes Barre-Scranton, Pa. and Oklahoma City (though no California cities) rather than in the big urban centers of the coast.

"Because of her likeability, a lot of viewers feel like they know her," says Jim Key, chief public affairs officer for the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center. "She is like a friend. People who know her want her to have the same rights as everyone else."

DeGeneres came up the favorite in an AOL Television poll of popular TV hosts, surpassing even Oprah Winfrey. Although that survey was unscientific, more reliable polls found that Winfrey's popularity plummeted at the same time she publicly threw her support behind Barack Obama.

It's easy to frame Winfrey's experience as far different in endorsing a presidential candidate than is DeGeneres in taking her marriage public. But it is a reminder of the risks stars take by stepping into the fray. A backlash is all but inevitable, whether stoked by opponents or cable news' thirst to fill time. No sooner had DeGeneres made public her planned nuptials than Fox News aired a segment that questioned whether she should have used her talkshow as a platform.

"Talkshow hosts are best when we know little about them, when they put light on the guest and not on themselves and not their own issues," argued marketing expert Laura Ries, apparently ignoring Kathie Lee Gifford's endless details about her kids, Winfrey's anecdotes of personal wisdom and even Johnny Carson's jokes about alimony payments.

Chances are DeGeneres will continue to strike just the right tone of levity, as she has in the past. It would have been odd had DeGeneres not announced her wedding plans or asked McCain about same-sex marriage.

Just take her show last week, when McCain had to say something in response.

"We just have a disagreement, and I, along with many, many others, wish you every happiness," he said.

Diffusing things, DeGeneres shot back, "Thank you. So you will walk me down the aisle?"

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