TAYlOR; PARfUMS INTERNATIONAl LTO.; AMOS; MATTHEW MENOELSON /CORBIS; OOLE; REUTERS elizabeth DOLE SAYING EUZABETH DOLE'S SEEMINGLY lllGH VOTE of confidence an10ng our male readers is a sw' prise is an tmderstatement as grand as a certain canyon in Arizona True, before she dropped out of the presiden tial race in October, she had made polite noises about gay support, going so far as to say she wouldn't disquali fy someone for a post simply because he was gay.</p><p> Still, that's a far cry from being proactive on gay issues.</p><p> Per haps the things that endear Dole to some gay men are her talk show-host ability to chrum a crowd and her calm approach to a husband who shares his sexual impotence prob lems with the world.</p><p> Rich Tafel, executive director of the gay group Log Cabin Republicans, says he thinks Dole's crunpaign shut down "because she doesn't have a message," but he adds, "She's a strong figure, and a lot of people respect that. " elizabeth TAYLOR WHO WOULDN'T WANT to be friend the woman who befriended Jan1es Dean, Rock Hudson, and Montgom ery Clift? "And Michael Jackson!" laughs playwright and screenwriter Paul Rudnick.</p><p> Jack son may be straight, but the writer notes that the eternal diva has "befriended every gay male person in history." Larger-than life doesn't begin to describe her appeal.</p><p> She's unlucky in love but ever hopeful.</p><p> She's still one of the most beautiful women in the world.</p><p> She has starred in film classics (Who's Afraid oj Vir ginia Wooif?) and notorious boondoggles (Cleopatra).</p><p> And, of course, she's a hero. "She took great risks early on by linking her self to the AIDS crisis," notes pro ducer Baf1J' Krost.</p><p> Other celebri ties are just following her lead.</p><p> And we'd follow her anywhere.
