by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

In one of the hottest contests of the night, Hillary Clinton defeated Barack Obama by a solid ten-points in California yesterday, although Obama made up for the loss with upset wins inConnecticut and Missouri, the Los Angeles Times reports. Clinton openedup a sizable lead early in the evening, but saw it cut in half asprecincts more favorable to Obama came in.

One of the storylines that was sure to emerge out of last night's splitverdict for the Democrats was each campaign's attempt to spin theresult to its advantage, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.Winning California gives Clinton bragging rights, but Obama won more states—13 to her 11—and more states that will be in play in November, like Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri. Even the delegate count is looking about even.

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Tuesday's Democratic primary is sure to be a nail-biter asthe new Field Poll shows Barack Obama only two points behind HillaryClinton, 36 percent to 34 percent, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.Absentee votes are sure to be a factor, as will youth turn-out andwhether Obama's efforts at courting Latinos pay off

What's amazing about this turn-around is that California was a 20-point Clinton slam dunk for all of last year and even the beginning of this one, write Matier and Ross in theChronicle. In addition to building momentum, Obama has applied thegrassroots approach he used in the smaller states here—no small feat ina state as large as ours.

Life on the campaign trail is both exhausting and exhilarating for candidates, aides, reporters and spouses, the LA Times reports. Thestress and fast pace can lead to defining moments in the campaign—likeHillary's emotional reaction to a woman's question in New Hampshire—orloopy interludes like Mitt Romney asking a bunch of black teens "wholet the dogs out?"

There's more...

Photo courtesy of etonline.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Frank D. Russo

The California Field Poll released today shows the Democratic race within the margin of error of the poll with Hillary Clinton at 36% of likely voters and Barack Obama at 34% with 18% undecided and another 12% voting for other candidates. It documents what Field calls a “strong surge” for Obama since its last poll taken in mid January, just 9 to 12 days earlier. It has a margin of error of 4.5% and was taken between Friday January 25 and Friday February 1.

While many will have their hunches reading the tea leaves here as to who will win the California primary, this one is simply too close to call, and the race will be determined by those who actually turn out and vote. It is not just the margin of error of the poll here of static statistics, but a volatile and unpredictable electorate and the closeness of division in those who have already made up their minds. For those who have surmised that Obama may have a steep road to go up because of early vote by mail voters, consider this: Amongst all mail ballot voters who have or are expected to vote, the results are 32% Obama and 31% Clinton—hardly decisive at all.

by DFA Staff [courtesy of Blog for America]

Results are in from the Republican primary in Florida.

John McCain appears to have just barely edged out Mitt Romney in the all-important Florida GOP primary, according to projections from CNN and the Associated Press.

Right now, with just over half reporting, McCain has 36%, Romney has 31% and Rudy is bringing up third with 15%.

The scuttlebutt in GOP circles is that the McCain and Romney camps are both aggressively lobbying Rudy for his endorsement, in the expectation that Rudy will drop out soon, perhaps even tonight.

Rumors are circulating that Rudy will drop out before tomorrow night's Republican debate and endorse Sen. McCain. Thoughts?

-Ilya

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

The California Republican primary looks likely to come down to ArizonaSenator John McCain versus former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney,although Rudy Giuliani could gain some steam again if he is victoriousin Florida, the San Diego Union Tribune reports. Unfortuantely forthem, the GOP candidates will be facing a "pure" Republican electoratedue to rules excluding independents, and the base view of manyissues—from the economy to immigration—tends be based on, well, base instincts. In other words, the victor will be pushed even further to the right.

It should not go unnoticed, however, that Giuliani has slipped from first place in this state to barely hanging onto third, writes Dan Walters, although perhaps we should have found it surprisingthat a social moderate like him held on for so long with our GOP base.

California's Republican Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner is "all in" on the poker game surrounding term limits reform, writes Jon Fleischman of the Flash Report. Poizner, by opening hischeckbook at a jaw-dropping $1.5 million, is betting on a defeat forProposition 93 to gain credibility with the GOP base and a possible runfor Governor. But if he loses, he's done.

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[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Hillary Clinton is projected to win among Democrats in the Nevada caucuses,while Mitt Romney is projected to win among Republicans, reports theNew York Times. With three-quarters of the votes and 84% of theprecincts reporting, Clinton has garnered 50% of the vote to Obama’s45%, with Edwards trailing at 4%.

The EPA is still refusing to give all the details on why it deniedCalifornia permission to enact the toughest vehicle emissionsregulations in the country, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.Senator Barbara Boxer and Representative Henry Waxman are leading aCongressional investigation into the agency’s decision, which has sofar been frustrated by the EPA’s deletion of portions of documentswhich may have predicted that it would lose the lawsuit whichCalifornia and 15 other states have now filed against it.