by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

by DFA Staff [courtesy of Blog for America]

I wanted to highlight an interesting editorial over at Buzzflash.com: Can Democrats get past the Obama-Clinton battle to 'live long and prosper'?. There are always passionate discussions in the comments about the different Democratic candidates and I just hope we all remained focused on defeating John McCain and increasing our majorities in the House and Senate. From Buzzflash:

Maintaining logic is lousy when you are behind a candidate, but vital when you are trying to cover a campaign. But don't confuse cold logic with uncaring. My focus is on the prize, a Democrat in the White House and significant increases in Democratic ranks in the House and Senate along with state House, Senate, and governors races.

One phrase we have repeated is that we intend to fully support the Democratic Party candidate for president, regardless of whom that is. Some readers have a hard time believing that. I can understand their point, but to quote Spock, their positions are "highly illogical."

Check out the full piece at Buzzflash.

Danny
Communications Director

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Sharon Kyle and Dick Price

In May 2006, our local club, the Northeast Democratic Club, endorsed Anthony Portantino as its choice for the 44th Assembly District seat being vacated by Carol Liu, who had termed out. In the June 2006 primary, Portantino was selected as the Democratic Party candidate in the general election, and in the November 2006 general election, he captured 58.3% of the vote to win his seat.

It’s been 10 months since Assemblymember Portantino was sworn in. Anyone in the 44th A.D. who is politically active has seen Anthony Portantino at countless events. Known for his boundless energy and easy accessibility, Portantino seems to be everywhere, all the time. Ever the family man, his wife Ellen and daughters Sofia and Bella Rose often accompany him as he goes out into the community. We caught up with Anthony for a telephone interview on Friday, October 5.