KERRY NYC BENEFIT CONCERT RAISES $7.5 MILLION AS CELEBS BASH BUSH

The gloves have come off as this year’s presidential campaign picks up steam.

A celebrity-studded benefit concert held last night at N.Y.’s Radio City Music Hall, featuring performances by John Mellencamp and Jon Bon Jovi, not only raised $7.5 million for Democratic candidate John Kerry and John Edwards, but the hackles of the administration after an insult-laden attack on President Bush.

Today, the Bush campaign reacted angrily and demanded to see the videotape of performing calling Bush a "liar'' and a "cheap thug'' during the show.

Chevy Chase drew cheers when he described politicians and their hobbies: "Clinton plays the sax, John plays the guitar, and the president's a liar.''

Mellencamp sang a song called "Texas Bandito,'' a tune that referred to Bush as a "cheap thug.''

Bush-Cheney campaign manager Ken Mehlman was livid, calling for Kerry "to release the video of this event so that all Americans can see what he has called America's 'heart and soul.'''

Kerry campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill responded in a conference call that Kerry and Edwards did not agree with everything the performers said during the concert. She did not respond directly when asked why the candidates did not criticize the harsh language directed at Bush but noted that the Bush-Cheney campaign didn't release recordings of its fund raisers and neither did they.

Bon Jovi set the tone for Thursday night's event by playing the Beatles’ "Here Comes the Sun.''

Others on hand included Meryl Streep, John Leguizamo, Paul Newman, Jessica Lange and Whoopi Goldberg, who went into a long routing using Bush’s name as a synonym for the female private part.

Topping it off, comedian Goldberg used Bush's surname as a sexual reference.

Taking the stage at the end of the evening, Edwards said: "Whoopi Goldberg said earlier tonight that she was afraid she wasn't going to get a phone call to be here. I can relate to that.''

Kerry joined in: "John Edwards thinks he was worried he wasn't going to get a phone call. I was worried I wasn't going to get anybody at home!"

Ticket prices for the evening started at $250 to $25,000 for the concert and a reception. The show sold out 5,500 tickets, though not every donor attended.

The money raised from Thursday's concert will be divided between Kerry's campaign and the Democratic National Committee. Last month, a similar concert in Los Angeles raised $5 million.