[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

So there I was, sandwiched in some sweet seats in the third row center of the mezzanine of Hollywood's Kodak Theater. Directly in front of me, my television hero, "Toby Ziegler" of The West Wing. On my left, Congresswoman Grace Napolitano and Congressman Joe Baca. On my right, Congresswoman Hilda Solis. Down below, Stevie Wonder, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Steven Spielberg.

Everywhere I looked, anyone who was anybody in Democratic politics was there for the history-making clash between Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama.

It was, in my opinion, the kind of debate Democrats of all stripes were hoping for: civil, issue-focused, and detailed with minimal intervention from the press.

But you can read about that elsewhere. There was much more going on than what was happening on stage.

The "pre-game show," as it was dubbed, was a half-hour of warmup before the debate. California Democratic Party Chair Art Torres was the emcee, rousing the crowd with his projections of Democratic victories and introducing the notables. The biggest surprise? Former Gov. Gray Davis got the only standing ovation from the crowd.

There's more...

Photo courtesy Los Angeles Times.

by Bob Brigham [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

I'm guessing that at tonight's Calitics' Actblue Celebrations there will be a lot of discussion about the votes to condemn MoveOn. The CA delegation split 50-50 in the senate and 16 yea and 17 nay in the house -- wedged successfully by the GOP in half. After the flip is the scorecard.

by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

...who just signed on to a letter to the President vowing not to appropriate any more money to the Iraq debacle for anything other than a fully funded withdrawal.  Kudos to these 12:

Lynn Woolsey
Barbara Lee
Maxine Waters
Ellen Tauscher
Diane Watson
Bob Filner
Hilda Solis
Grace Napolitano
Linda Sanchez
Mike Honda
Pete Stark
Lois Capps

Reward good behavior.  Letter on the flip.

by Brian Leubitz [courtesy of Calitics: Soapblox California - Front Page]