Frankly speaking, gay U.S. Rep. BARNEY FRANK (D-Mass.) was more than happy to escort young gay politico and former D.C. resident MIKE EVANS into the VIP area at Philadelphia's Equality Forum last weekend.

According to Dish's multiple spies who were on the scene, after standing outside of the closed-off area for a while, the congressman finally told the bouncers guarding the door to let Evans in. The cost of admission? A firm grab on the ass.

While chatting intimately, the partnered politician placed his hand on Evans’ backside. What's worse, a number of photographers (including Dish's) caught the whole thing on film.

Maybe the exposure will help Evans’ political career, which stalled after he pulled out of a Democratic primary for a congressional seat in his native Missouri last July.

And speaking of overly friendly politicians, President Bush was caught by photographers holding hands with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Abdullah.

Last week, the prince returned to Crawford, Texas, to meet with the president at his ranch to discuss foreign affairs, oil prices and all those other scintillating topics political heavyweights take on. Yawn.

The real story is that the two were walking around the grounds holding hands and looking like eighth graders flirting at a roller rink. Hand holding between two men in Arab countries (many of which outlaw homosexuality) is a sign of friendship, trust and respect.

This is the second time that the prince was invited to Crawford, making him the only world leader to receive more than one invitation from Bush.

The day after his meeting with the crown prince, Bush raised eyebrows again while in Galveston, Texas, to talk about his Social Security plan. According to the Associated Press, before his speech the president asked, “Do you still have Splash Day?”

Splash Day used to be an annual event where high school students would celebrate the end of classes and the beginning of summer. That tradition died many years ago, but has been revived in recent years — as a gay circuit party.

“I’m not saying whether I came or not on Splash Day. I’m just saying, ‘Do you have Splash Day?’” he said from the podium.

After all your support of a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, Dish doesn’t think you’d be invited anyway.

Persona non grata

James Guckert (a.k.a. Jeff Gannon)

JEFF GANNON, aka James Guckert, the disgraced former White House “reporter” for conservative Web site Talon News who served as a gay male escort in the past, didn’t get an invitation to the Star-Studded White House Correspondent’s Dinner in D.C. last weekend

“It seems to me to be odd to exclude the one person who has brought more attention to the White House press corps than anyone else in years,” Gannon told the New York Post’s Page Six. “Probably many who would want to extend such an invitation already assume I will be in attendance.”

Sure, Jeff, maybe that’s it. Or maybe they just didn’t want to pay $200 an hour for your “company.”

The crowd did include RICHARD GERE, MARY TYLER MOORE, JANE FONDA, BILL MAHER, DENNIS HOPPER, REV. AL SHARPTON and other big names of both the political and entertainment worlds.

Show must go on
Unfortunately for fans in D.C., gay band ERASURE had to cancel its two sold out shows at D.C.’s 9:30 Club on May 2-3 because lead singer ANDY BELL came down with the flu. A rep for the band said that the illness was non-HIV related and only the dates in D.C. were canceled.

It shouldn’t affect the rest of the U.S. tour with his band mate VINCE CLARKE, which started in mid-April and lasts through June.

The shows have been rescheduled for June 6 & 7 and all tickets for the original shows will be honored.

In December, Bell announced that he is HIV-positive and has lived with the virus since 1998. He said he is on combination therapy and responding favorably.

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