NEW YORK, NY October 26, 2007 —Comedian and perennial Oscars host Billy Crystal emceed a Hillary Clinton 60th Birthday Bash at the Beacon Theater last night. With rock stars on the stage and movie stars in the audience, the event raised an estimated $1.5 million. WNYC’s Fred Mogul reports.

REPORTER: : Last night, rock icon Elvis Costello in his signature song posed the same question he’s asked audiences for decades: “Where are the strong and who are the trusted?” To a crowd of Clinton believers, the answer was obvious, though it might not be to everyone.

Clinton took the stage, thanked Costello, and also praised the other musical guests, The Wallflowers. She talked about first hearing that band when her daughter played its CDs a decade ago, and she gave a little plug for achievers who also just happen to know the right people.

CLINTON: We knew that it was a talented group that was making it on its own, but the fact that Jacob Dylan was for many of us a connection to his extraordinary father, Bob Dylan, made it even sweeter.

REPORTER: : Clinton’s biggest applause lines came not from her brief roundup of promises on Iraq, healthcare, education or the environment, but from expressing pride in her daughter, Chelsea, and from lambasting what she said was President Bush’s “War on science.”

In all, Clinton spoke for about 10 minutes – just a little longer than her husband’s introduction. For WNYC, I’m Fred Mogul.