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Polling only three percent in the runup to the on-again, off-again California gubernatorial recall and election campaign, conservative-turned leftist candidate Arianna Huffington has been waging an uphill battle. 

Even in Berkeley, a bastion of progressivism, she couldn’t muster a large turnout for her rally on Thursday at UC Berkeley’s Sproul Plaza. Passionate supporters held signs and shouted approval—but it was readily apparent that there was lots of open space for supporters who didn’t come. 

Still, Huffington is currently on what analysts are calling the top five list. Along with Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, Republicans Arnold Schwarzenegger and Tom McClintock, and Peter Camejo from the Green Party, she continues to make a name for herself as the only woman with a chance of winning. 

Huffington’s case is arguably unique, almost a political U-turn, changing sides and taking up many of the most important issues that concern liberal voters. 

A well-known author and columnist with nine books currently in print, she appears to aim simultaneously to garner votes and to push for reform and burnish her image.  

Thursday’s speech at Cal covered a number of her core issues, including public financing of elections, universal health care, the California state budget, renewable energy, enhanced funding for public education, and medical marijuana. In particular, she champions the budget, health care and public financing for elections—while allowing for ample time for book-signing and plenty of PR work. 

Huffington’s Berkeley appearance came as part of a tour of college campuses to turn out the vote among students. Her grassroots campaign director Van Jones said she looks at students as part of a swing vote. 

Many issues she supports strike a chord with students organizing around the same theme—evident in the turnout Thursday of several Berkeley organizations at the rally. 

Rebecca Saltzman, a member of Students for a Sensible Drug Policy, one of the groups sponsoring Huffington’s Berkeley appearance, says that while she supports Huffington’s drug policy, she knows her candidate doesn’t stand much of a chance. 

“She’s the best candidate on drug policy in general, especially because Davis has been so poor on issues concerning drugs and criminal justice,” Saltzman said. “But people are scared [of the recall] so they’re voting for candidates like Bustamante.” 

Other groups on stage while Huffington spoke included the campus No on 54 Coalition and the Berkeley Stop the War Coalition. Representatives from No on 54 said they made an appearance because Huffington has come out against the proposition, but said the group was not making an endorsement.  

Huffington gave the Berkeley Stop the War Coalition representative a warm hug after her speech, which demanded the U.S. stop financing the war and occupation in Iraq. Afterwards however, Michael Smith from the coalition had a few words for Huffington, who, he said, is more talk than action. 

“She got so much mileage from putting her arm around our person,” said Smith. “She talks a lot about being anti-war but we’ll see what she does.” 

Unlike some of the other students at the rally, Smith expressed doubts about Huffington and her appeal to students. 

“They talk a lot about the students being central to the fight but that’s sort of patronizing to the students. I want to see her match her deeds to her actions,” he said.  

Alan Ross, a professor at UC Berkeley who teaches the wildly popular Politics 179 class that invites political speakers to guest lecture every week, invited Huffington to his class but says her campaign was too disorganized to make it. He said he hasn’t sensed much support for Huffington among students, nor voters across the state. 

“People thought that maybe with so many candidates running, someone with as little as 10 percent of the vote could win,” he said. “It’s a shame in the sense that the recall could have been an opportunity to look beyond the normal candidates, yet it’s coming down to Bustamante and Schwarzenegger.” 

However and whenever the vote turns out, Huffington will have succeeded in boosting her appeal and capturing some of the media limelight, a helpful boost for an already successful author.