Last month I got a postcard from "The Creative Coalition," a left-leaning group of activists from show business. They'd invited me to "get on the bus with Alec Baldwin and take big money out of politics." Baldwin is the group's president.

They wanted me to be part of their New York contingent traveling to Massachusetts for a petition drive to get a "clean money initiative" on the ballot there.

This is good, because it will allow Baldwin and his wife Kim Basinger, and other struggling artists, like Woody Harrelson, to have a greater impact on politics. Who can argue with that?

All right. So, I'm not exactly a zealot about campaign finance reform. And I don't lean to the left. But the invitation says that after the petitioning, "Alec Baldwin and friends will host a dinner and party" for volunteers.

Now I'm hooked. It's not every day that a big Hollywood star is willing to step down into the trenches and party with the proletariat. Also, I've heard that Baldwin, a registered Democrat, may run for Congress. When I meet him, I can even tell him the cool slogan I've dreamed up for his campaign: "Tired of Republican actors in Washington? Elect a Democratic actor, for a change."

A ride up north

A week later, Baldwin himself sent me a letter (Xeroxed signature, though) thanking me "in advance" for joining the effort. Baldwin writes that he "will be leading the New York volunteers," along with his brother, Billy. He says "We'll be on the bus with you, we'll be gathering signatures with you."

On October 25th at 6 a.m., I board the bus at Manhattan's Bryant Park. A few minutes later, Baldwin himself actually gets on. He looks tired, and a bit out of place in a frumpy dark suit. (Not because the suit was frumpy; everyone else is in jeans.)

As the bus starts rolling, Baldwin stands up front and speaks over the PA system. "Who here does not have a folder?", he asks in a low rumble of a voice. (Wow! This guy is really hands-on, I'm thinking.) Baldwin tells us we'll get full training when we arrive in Massachusetts. For now, he just wants to welcome us aboard. There's plenty of bagels and donuts for us to munch on, he points out, "just like on a Hollywood set." Then, signing off, Baldwin says, "Alright, you can go to sleep now."

Baldwin as a grassroots organizer is impressive, but I'm wondering why there aren't other big-name celebrities here. "Shouldn't Streisand be here?" I ask the guy behind me. He says she would have come, but she's headlining a birthday party for Chinese President Jiang Zemin.

Rumors of Brad

Headquarters for the petition drive is the Greek Cultural Center in Springfield, Massachusetts. We stop there for training, along with hundreds of other reformers from all over the Northeast.

A rumor circulates that Brad Pitt is nearby in Rhode Island, heading a campaign to make pre-marital sex illegal there. As word spreads, the younger women start talking aloud about abandoning our cause and heading for the border. This is a concern to some of the organizers, because, alas, there aren't that many attractive young women to start.

"Brad Pitt! I want to jump his bones," shrieks a blonde, as she contemplates joining His Royal Hunkness' Chastity Crusade. The rumor proves false, though, and the threat of mutiny subsides.

Baldwin gives a stirring pep talk to the troops: "We want campaign finance reform NOW. Let's chase Big Money out of politics." The audience thunders its approval.

Baldwin notes that there are ample bagels and donuts around the room. "I wouldn't go anywhere without them," he tells us.

"How many people in this room really care about this issue?" he asks. More loud cheering, stomping. "How many of you would be here even if there were no celebrities here?" More cheering. Still, I can't help but wonder about the quality of groupies that Pitt would draw.

Then some wiseguy (all right, it was me) asks his fellow activists to "Join me in a campaign to drive Big Celebrities out of politics." Most people chuckle at this. But one girl is very offended. "No, I don't want to do that," she says. "We need people like Alec Baldwin to lead the charge."

I'm tempted to tell her that I'm only kidding. But all the glamour and politics has made me hungry, and I head for the bagels and donuts.