President clinton is famous for peppering his conversation and speeches with references to scholarly books on economics and politics. When the occasion demands, he can do science too. On a recent Friday, introducing the First Lady at a Silicon Alley fund-raiser for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee at a downtown penthouse, he mentioned Nonzero, Robert Wright's book on evolution, as he made the point that the New Economy need not be a zero-sum game. Minutes later, Hillary Clinton stressed her commitment to New York State's technology sector and noted that "the pace of change will move forward in an almost geometric progression." When the Clintons weren't playing to the Alley, the Alley played to them: Most of the $1,000-a-head crowd traded their khakis for suits, and people who usually talk about recontextualizing business almost giddily lined up for presidential handshakes, (nondigital) photo ops with Hillary, and the chance to hobnob over cocktails with Democratic senators Charles Schumer, Robert Torricelli, and Jay Rockefeller. Fifteen new Masters of the Universe, including Razorfish CEO Jeff Dachis, Digital Club Network founder Andrew Rasiej, and StarMedia CEO Fernando Espuelas, stayed for the $25,000-a-plate meal. "Hillary spent most of the dinner talking about linking Buffalo, Rochester, and New York so we could synergize the tech communities in those cities," said one Alley executive who ponied up the dough. "A lot of these people have never been in the presence of a senator before, much less a president, and all of a sudden, everyone knew a lot more about Buffalo and Rochester."

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• Table of Contents: Sep 25, 2000 issue of New York | Subscribe!