In a city where "stardom" comes via congressional committee assignments, there is a certain affinity for the real thing. So when Warren Beatty and Annette Bening arrived at the Madison Hotel here to trumpet a new political organization called Progressive Majority, the crowd was thick and excited.

It took the duo more than 30 minutes to move the 30 feet to the podium, as admirers and liberal political types waited to shake hands and snap pictures. Some real politicians came, too, including Sens. Paul Wellstone and John Corzine and much of the Democratic side of the California congressional delegation, who were taking the event very seriously. Senator Corzine and Mr. Beatty took time to have an extended conversation, with pensive faces and consensual nodding, in front of a line of cameras.

But beyond the star power (and a pretty nice spread of crab cakes and pasta), the purpose of the evening was to announce the creation of Progressive Majority - a little more than a political action committee, a little less than a party. Its aim is to train and elect "progressive" politicians to Congress and at the state level. A "vast majority of Americans support this agenda," US Rep. George Miller (D) of California assured the crowd.

The specifics of that agenda are a bit foggy, but Beatty, in a meandering speech that seemed to reprise his role as Sen. Jay Billington Bulworth, said part of the group's mission is to figure that out. "I have never seen the Democratic Party in a more confused state," he told the assembled. "We want to hone down what being progressive means."

That may be the most difficult task Beatty and company face. Progressivism, such as it is in Washington, is today a complicated concept, with folks from both parties claiming the mantle, depending on the issue. While polls show that voters are interested in some sort of "progressive" agenda - placing government action on education, Social Security, and prescription drugs among their top concerns - just how far they want to go is unclear.

This may be the best of times and the worst of times for progressivism. The word has gained popularity, but beyond that, things get fuzzy. If everybody's a progressive, is anyone a progressive?

The groups and people who make up the Progressive Majority show they have a definition in mind. Founders include Norman Lear, Barbra Streisand, and several labor unions, including the AFL-CIO and the United Autoworkers. Nary a Republican is among the politicians on the advisory committee.

"It's what's left of the Left," said political analyst Bill Schneider, who was at last Thursday's event to score an interview with Beatty.

But that leaves out more than a few politicians in Washington.

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