Follow LA Observed on Twitter here
Michael Huffington clarifies the record in a piece by Robin Abcarian in today's LAT, saying that he is bi not gay, intends (unlike ex-wife Arianna) to stay a Republican, did not squander family money in his doomed bid for the U.S. Senate from California a decade ago, and was not secretly relieved that he lost. He has gotten politically active again to defend same-sex marriage.
For the first time, Huffington is stepping into the national spotlight on behalf of a gay cause. Incensed that President Bush has thrown his weight behind a proposed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, Huffington is helping to fund and promote a campaign against it. After a speech at last weekend's annual convention of Log Cabin Republicans — the nation's most prominent organization of gay Republicans — he chatted Saturday for 40 minutes about his decision to come forward, his disappointment in Bush and the peace he has now that he is out of the closet.
The matter is particularly painful for the lanky 56-year-old Huffington, a former Texas banker and oilman who has a long history with the Bush family, having worked for the president's father when George H.W. Bush was a congressman. He also goes way back with presidential advisor Karl Rove, whom many Log Cabin members vilified during the three-day convention here as the person responsible for pushing the president to embrace the proposed constitutional amendment."I had not planned to get involved with this political issue because I am the old generation," says Huffington...
He was divorced from Arianna Huffington in 1997 and went public with his sexual orientation the following year. He lives near her on the Westside; they have two daughters.