California is still very much in play for this 2008 presidential race, Republicans be damned. McCain does not plan on conceding the state that carries the most electoral points. Will he win CA? Not likely. Is it possible? It’s not impossible. Our own Governor thinks it’s possible. But this won’t be your typical Republican campaign run by the Republican machine that was successful in the past (the same one that concedes California from the beginning).......

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A famous scene from Casablanca | Photo by udronotto via Flickr Normally, the Academy Awards making the news this early in the Oscar-year calendar doesn't make sense. That is, until the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced yesterday in a press release the key dates for next year's show on Sunday, February 22nd. And after listing those dates (below if you care), the last sentence of the release mentioned why there was......

On Wednesday, Hillary released round two of her 3 A.M. ad (see the original) in Pennsylvania. It uses the same opening footage, the same opening line, and it’s the same 3 A.M. phone-is-ringing scenario. Yep, it’s a recycled ad. The differences in round two: the crisis is not a military one but an economic one (3 A.M. seems to be a busy time of day for a president) and she’s attacking McCain’s economic policies......

Downtown Los Angeles, by kpe II via LAist Featured Photos Pool on Flickr. Hey, who's ready for another strike? The actors might be after the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists voted to split with the Screen Actors Guild, heightening fears that Hollywood may be in for another work stoppage. The last one cost Los Angeles County more than $1 billion. Time to switch from Whole Foods to Trader Joes, actors. OK, so......

Photo by Angela Radulescu via flickr. "Somebody forgot to tell Hillary Clinton the Democratic presidential race is over and Barack Obama won." So began Reuters political correspondent John Whitesides' analysis of the presidential campaign this morning. Ever since Super Tuesday, when Obama won the majority of states but lost key states like New York, California, and New Jersey, it's seemed as if no political doublespeak or even MSM pandering could stem the Obama tide.......

No, not because he had a record-breaking fundraising day. In fact, McCain sent an email to his supporters asking them to donate to his campaign within the next week in order to make his 1st quarter fundraising numbers look sexy (OK, he didn’t actually say he wanted them to look sexy but it's not a bad strategy as a way to compete with Obama). He did, though, pick up the endorsement of former First Lady......

Senator McCain is visiting California for three days for the first time since he locked up the Republican nomination. While in the Golden State, The Man hosted a town hall meeting for military families in Chula Vista on Monday, will host a roundtable event for Hispanic small-business owners in Orange County on Tuesday, and will deliver a policy speech to the Los Angeles Foreign Affairs Council on Wednesday. Interspersed, of course, are scheduled fundraising......

Who looks and studies the sample ballot? We all know how to vote, right? Well, after Super Tuesday's "double bubble" controversy (which was thankfully solved for the most part), it might be good to brush up on those bubble filling skills. And LAist Featured Photos contributor coffeextv found this statement upon looking through the sample ballot: "Shall Los Angeles County be declared the sun and leisure capitol of the world?" The photo is titled......

For months, critics of Hillary Clinton, from John "such a mavericky maverick that he promises his presidency will be exactly like George Bush's" McCain, to our corporate liberal media, have been demanding, with different degrees of credulity, that Hillary release her White House records. From newsrooms to blog comments, it's been a tidal wave of"What is She hiding?!", or "Why doesn't she follow Obama's lead and release her records?" And who can blame them? With......

When it comes to basketball, anyway. The Republican nominee today unveiled a new feature on his website: compare your picks for the 2008 March Madness tournament with his picks. You can even donate your points to the university of your choice so your school can win. Gimmicky? Absolutely. But brilliant. In order to compare your picks, you must create an account; the only required information is your email address and zip code. That’s golden......

Sorry Republicans, but this is only for the Democrats in the house. You know who you are, you passionate Donkeys who like both candidates with equal abandon. You indecisive asses who can't decide between these two stong candidates. It's a tough choice, I know. On the one hand you have Barack Obama, whose oratory skills are second to one. He has galvanized millions to his cause, spawned idolatrous music videos and convinced more than 1......

Who knew that today is the 35th anniversary of the day John McCain was released by his captors as a POW in Vietnam? Probably not many people. It’s easy to imagine some of the gimmicks campaign consultants were probably tossing around to commemorate the day: McCain sits behind the controls of a replica of the fighter plane he once flew; of a modern Naval fighter plane; McCain’s congressional colleagues hold a roast for him......

Obama supporters on the Cahuenga Pass Feb. 5, by nailmaker via LAist Featured Photos Pool on Flickr When Americans went to bed March 4, most believed that Hillary Clinton had taken the contest in Texas that observers said resuscitated her flailing hopes for the presidency. They pointed to her win in the primary as evidence that the New York Senator had taken the state that some said was vital if she wanted to stay......

First, let's reemphasize the good news from last week, as reported by David Dayen at Calitics: "47,153 "double bubble" votes were counted in Los Angeles County. The expectation on the day of the election was that none of these ballots from decline to state voters would be counted, but the pressure put on by the Courage Campaign and other groups led to this result." Second, Dayen's post that included the above news has made its......

Now that McCain has secured the Republican nomination, much work has to be done to keep his name in the news while that other party decides how to actually produce a winner. So how does McCain’s campaign plan on doing that? To start, The Man himself is planning a national tour promoting his life story, an overseas trip to promote his foreign policy experience, and town hall meetings leading through the general election. But......

An interview that former vice-presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro made to a the Southbay local paper, the Daily Breeze, is causing a stir in the Barack Obama campaign. Ferraro, a supporter of Hillary Clinton, told the Breeze reporter, "If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who......

As the country waits to see what the future holds for crusader turned illicit copulater Eliot Spitzer, it is worth examining what impact his prostitute predilection might have on the Democratic Party. Spitzer, the once immensely popular governor of New York that swept into office with 70 percent of the vote, was an early and avid supporter of Hillary Clinton. He is a Clinton superdelegate and helped solidify the support she enjoys in the state......

Photo by highervision via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr This evening a public viewing will be held for slain LA High football star Jamiel Shaw, with funeral services to follow tomorrow. Shaw's tragic murder has prompted many LA residents to refocus on the senselessness of gang-related violence. Go, stop, go, stop: Commuters northbound on the 57 and the 605 transitioning to the 210 westbound this morning were greeted by the new traffic......

In Rick Orlov's weekly Daily News column on City Hall and local politics, today he touches on the Democratic presidential race and Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa, who has recently been criticized for his time away from the city to campaign for Hillary Clinton. He defends his out-of-town moves and talks about what happens if Clinton loses: "Look, if you're a big-city mayor and you want money from Washington, you have to get involved in these......

From 'Real Time With Bill Maher' on March 7, 2008 Bill visits Olvera Street to take the "temperature of the Latino vote." Skip ahead to 5:00 minutes for the interviews.......

Nick's, home of delicious breakfast burritos, by Rebecca~James via LAist Featured Photos Pool on Flickr Remember when we told you that Los Angeles tap water was the best tasting in the world? Turns out that our delicious H20 might have been sprinkled with delicious drugs. The AP found that a multitude of pharmaceuticals, like antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones, have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million......

"Fire in the Sky" by manmadepants via LAist Featured Photos Pool on Flickr Sacramento to California's teachers: I love you, but I just can't pay you. Thousands of teachers across the state this week could receive pink slips in the wake of the $14.5 billion budget gap. Teachers to Sacramento: I'd like to see you try and force us out. The Air Quality Management District loves clean air so much they decided to impose......

At a press conference today wih presumptive Republican nominee John McCain, Pres. Bush (who, despite popular opinion, is still president) officially endorsed the Arizona Senator and took a few questions from those wacky reporters who still have the gall to ask questions. During the ten minute media bonanza, Bush showed how little he cares for the free press and, apparently, for McCain. He continually interrupted the Senator and attempted to show, with body language and......

Photograph, left, of Hillary Clinton at Herrera's Mexican Cafe in Dallas, TX by Carolyn Kaster/AP; photograph, right, of Barack Obama at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo 2008 by Rick Bowmer/AP *Update 12:03 p.m.: Hillary Clinton is now the declared winner in Texas according to the LA Times. They also have a complete breakdown, state by state, for all the state primaries including yesterdayAs 7:53 p.m., PST, MSNBC projected that Hillary Clinton, at 57%......

Not that we did not know already, but now it is official: Mike Huckabee announced shortly before 6:30 p.m. PST that he is dropping out of the race. The presumptive Republican nominee, John McCain is expected to hold his victory speech later tonight in Dallas (UPDATE: McCain began his victory speech at 6:48 p.m. PST -- "Stand up and fight for America, the contest begins tonight" MSNBC live on air reports that his teleprompter failed......

"...And the ancient empty street's too dead for dreaming" by kpe II via LAist Featured Photos Pool on Flickr Newly elected state speaker, a Democrat named Karen Bass who was raised in Los Angeles, has made friends on both sides of the aisle, the LA Times said. She is the first African-American to assume the top spot and has some pretty lofty goals, including providing healthcare and improving education. Wait, those are things EVERY......

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has once again set off for another city that is not his own to help a candidate that has no stake in running Los Angeles. And you could be paying for it. This time, Mayor Tony set off on a five-city, five-day tour to help Hillary Clinton win the Texas Primary so critical to her presidential aspirations. (As of now, polling indicates a dead heat, with some polls indicating Obama has an......

We couldn't pick a better headline than Think On These Things did with this video. The blog, that talks itself up to be "research, commentary, and news on the 2008 Presidential Election with a Pro-Obama Slant" show us this video that has made Derrick, the savvy Obama supporter being interviewed, practically a political YouTube Star. Going by the sobriquet DNA, his locally based "Afropolitan Fusion" style band is Soulfège (check out 'To Be Free'......

The Daily Breeze has the low-down on the latest from Super Tuesday's ugly non-partisan voting mishap where nearly 50,000 votes went uncounted because of a tricky "double bubble" on ballots. Los Angeles County registrar Dean Logan has announced more than 50% of uncounted votes will be counted. Here are the technical details: The omission of the additional mark did not affect ballots cast purely for state propositions. Of the estimated 200,000 nonpartisan voters, 50 percent......