GARY HART TO SPEAK AT SHADOW CONVENTION

DENVER (AP) - Coloradan and onetime Democratic presidential candidate Gary
Hart will speak at a shadow convention to be held in Los Angeles at the
same time as the Democratic national convention.

Hart, who dropped out of the 1988 Democratic race for the nomination for
president following a sex scandal, is slated to give the opening address
Sunday at an alternative to the Democratic event nearby.

Hart has said for some time that both parties are too corrupt to fix
society's problems, a complaint that fits neatly with the group sponsoring
the alternative event.

"We had been looking for a keynote speaker who would be able to put what's
happening in our democracy today in some sort of historical perspective,"
said syndicated columnist Arianna Huffington, who invited Hart. "He seemed
uniquely able to do that."

A similar gathering was held in Philadelphia during the GOP's national
convention. The shadow conventions are being put on by Huffington, campaign
finance watchdog Common Cause and other groups.

Hart's 15-minute address is expected to dwell on the corrupting influence
of money on politics, the failures of the war on drugs and the growing gap
in America between rich and poor.

The roots of Hart's appearance are in an interview he did with Huffington
earlier.