FUNNY GIRL FINALE STREISAND STEPS BACK INTO THE LIMELIGHT FOR THE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION.

Byline: Fred Shuster Music Writer

Millions of fans will trip over each other and spend top dollar to get a chance to see Barbra Streisand, who will bring down the curtain on her concert career after September dates at Staples Center and Madison Square Garden.

But what marquee name lures the reclusive singer/actress/director out of her Malibu digs?

Why her man Bill, of course.

On Monday from a Staples Center skybox, Streisand was spotted cheering on President Clinton during his speech before the Democratic National Convention.

A staunch liberal Democrat, money raiser and card-carrying member of the ``cultural elite,'' dubbed the most powerful woman in Hollywood, the 58-year-old Streisand has been active in politics since she was a teen. At 19, she sang for President Kennedy, and for President Johnson five years later. Streisand, who was active in George McGovern's 1972 presidential campaign, was one of the few celebrities to appear on President Richard Nixon's so-called ``enemies list.''

And Streisand is doing more than cheering this week. Tonight, after Al Gore gives his acceptance speech, she may well steal the spotlight from the candidate when she appears at a $1,000-a-ticket Democratic National Committee fund-raiser at the Shrine Auditorium.

Democratic Senator Blanche Lambert Lincoln of Arkansas says that ``there is no doubt that the high visibility of people like that (referring to Streisand) do a lot for the party.''

Marilyn Bergman, president of music rights organization ASCAP and co-writer of Streisand's 1973 No. 1 hit, ``The Way We Were,'' says Streisand's value to the DNC is ``self-evident.''

On Sunday, Streisand opened her secluded hill-top Malibu estate for a brunch to allow President Clinton to drum up cash to fund his $125 million presidential library and museum in Little Rock, Ark.

The White House refused to give details about the event for 50 couples or reveal the guest list, but some reports estimated that Clinton could have raised as much as $10 million.

But Democrats also value Streisand's value as a spokesperson and a symbol.

``The average person pays about that much attention to politics,'' says Lincoln, snapping her fingers, ``and she brings that much more attention to it. So I'm very grateful that she'll step out and say these issues are important to her, and that's not easy.

Bergman says Streisand's involvement in politics shows ``there are issues she cares about very deeply and like any responsible citizen, she wants to speak out. And she speaks quite eloquently with both her words and talent as an actress, singer and filmmaker.''

Betty Thomas, actress and director of ``The Brady Bunch Movie,' echoed those sentiments. ``For me - being part of the Democratic Party - what you dream of is having a passionate, articulate spokesman (like Streisand). ... She's great. I applaud her every time she does it (stands up for her beliefs). And for her to perform, too, that's what you dream of (when putting together a fund-raiser).''

But Streisand doesn't get a standing ovation with all Democrats.

``It's important we have people committed to the Democratic agenda (like Streisand),'' said U.S. Rep. Cal Dooley, who represents much of California's Central Valley and is a leader of the centrist-minded New Democrats. But because Streisand is committed to a liberal agenda, ``she has not helped us'' in pushing the party toward the middle, Dooley said.

Sunday's event wasn't the first time Streisand has opened her home for political causes. Prior to the 1986 elections, Streisand performed for 500 invited guests in her own backyard, raising enough money to help elect five Democratic senators, thus restoring a Democratic majority in the Senate.

She headlined concerts which raised millions for each of Clinton's presidential campaigns and sang at his inaugural concert.

Streisand was one of Hollywood's most outspoken defenders of the President during the Monica Lewinsky scandal, stating that the Republicans were using the impeachment issue as a means of unraveling the achievements of the Clinton administration.

Streisand's commitment to Clinton extended to a personal nature. She became friends and maintained a relationship the president's mother, Virginia Kelley, until her death of breast cancer in 1994.

Tonight's post-convention event is an event because it will be one of Streisand's final performances before she stops doing concerts. (She will appear Sept. 20-21 at Staples Center and Sept. 27-28 in New York.)

After receiving the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 57th annual Golden Globe Awards in January, she told journalists that she didn't ``enjoy public performances and being up on a stage. ... I like to be behind the camera or in a recording studio.''

While she is calling a halt to live shows, Streisand has no plans to stop singing. A new disc, ``Timeless: Live in Concert,'' is due in stores Sept. 19.

In any case, the Democrats clearly scored this year in the entertainment department, especially compared to the Republicans, who at their convention were serenaded by Hank Williams Jr., Chubby Checker, the Temptations, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Earth, Wind & Fire, a lineup apparently enjoying a day pass from the State Fair circuit.

The Shrine event also features Kenneth ``Babyface'' Edmonds, Boyz II Men and Gladys Knight. Whoopi Goldberg hosts.

Although many believe Streisand is quitting her concert career due to her decades-old stage-fright, some reports suggest she and husband James Brolin plan to adopt a baby girl. Streisand, who has a 33-year-old son from a previous marriage, wed Brolin, 60, two years ago.

``I'd rather travel,'' she said in January. ``We just like to get in the car and go, stopping at motels and truck stops. We're normal people. We like simple pleasures.''

Valerie Kuklenski and David Bloom contributed to this story.

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