Babs and Brolin Go Hunting

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Everyone knows Barbra Streisand is one of Hollywood’s leading liberals, but who knew her hubby, James Brolin, could be the political mensch himself?

I got the chance to talk with Brolin and Terrence Howard last night at a VIP screening of their new flick, The Hunting Party, about three journalists who are mistaken for CIA operatives when they attempt to locate Bosnia’s most-wanted war criminal.

They shot for more than two months in Bosnia and Croatia. “They didn’t like Americans because we elected Bush twice,” Brolin said. “Once? Okay. But twice means you really want him. We would tell them we were Canadian.”

“I would tell them I was from Rwanda,” Howard cracked.

Security, including bodyguards, was on high alert when cast and crew touched down in eastern Europe. “At first, they assigned bodyguards to us,” Brolin said. “So, you kind of wondered what was up. But then after two or three days, you go, What’s the problem here?”

Apparently there were none for the pair, who soon found themselves ditching their burly babysitters. “We had to escape from our own bodyguards,” Howard said.

Brolin remembered, “I was emailing friends, saying I was tying sheets together and scaling down the walls to go take a walk.”

2007 Frank Micelotta/Courtesy LOGO

Streisand wasn’t talking to the press, so I thought I’d get her husband’s take on who he thinks will be taking over the White House. “Hillary is certainly the most qualified,” he said. “But it will be interesting to see how Obama will mature in the coming months. It’s like a horse race. Everybody changes, and you find out the one who was so strong doesn’t have any stamina.”

Brolin won’t be surprised if anti-Clinton mudslinging intensifies as election day gets closer. “It could get really nasty,” Howard said, adding, “I was hearing today that they’re saving a real juicy thing on Bill for the election.”

I would have loved to ask Streisand what she thought about that, but she wasn’t talking last night. Instead, she did what she loves to do—nosh! The menu included one of her favorites: cupcakes from Sprinkles bakery in Beverly Hills.

But it looks like Babs may be counting calories. As Brolin and I chatted, she kept busy eating a cupcake, but only after she scraped off all the frosting.