Well, the President is (roughly) scheduled to speak at 2. But, folks have been lining up for hours now.  Over at Neon Tommy, they’ve been liveblogging the situation at USC. Oh, and the photo is a shot of the line AT 6:00AM!  See David Atkins liveblog above!

6:00 a.m.

“Line’s already formed along W. 34th St. at Trusdale. At least a couple hundred people out here braving the drizzle. Most of the people out here as yet appear to be students, but there are some older faces in the crowd.” -Ryan Lee Kindel

“Line is starting to build, I’d say in 10 minutes it should reach the Cinema School. Tickets? No tickets? Food? Is an umbrella a weapon? Security is already getting hounded with questions at the Obama event.” -Laura Cueva

6:20 a.m.

“People cheering for the news camera. Students at the front of the line started waiting at 3:30 this morning after little to no sleep. Perhaps it goes without saying that they’re big Obama fans.” -RLK

Editor’s Note: Though initial reports said people who arrived before 6 a.m. would be turned away, this turned out not to be true.(Neon Tommy)

Enthusiasm gap?  Well, if a 9 hour line isn’t enthusiasm, I’m not sure what is.

Dan Savage, after reading about suicide after suicide, started the “It Gets Better Project“. Today, he got the “big get”, by President Obama recording a message. The problem is tragic, but we can do so much more to prevent this needless loss of young lives.

President Obama is coming to LA tomorrow for a rally on the campus of USC, and he is bringing along a nice little endorsement for the people of the state: No on Prop 23.

“The president is opposed to Prop. 23 — a veiled attempt by corporate polluters to block progress towards a clean energy economy,” White House spokesman Adam Abrams announced Wednesday. “If passed, the initiative would stifle innovation, investment in R&D and cost jobs for the state of California.”

But it is not just about the Golden State. Abrams added, “The impacts could affect us all. If successful, corporate special interests will set their sights nationwide.”

The White House might well be worried: Both proponents and opponents of the measure, which would suspend the implementation of California’s sweeping global warming law, say that as California goes,  so go national prospects for climate change legislation. (LA Times)

Though nationally Obama may have some approval issues, he is still quite popular here.  Prop 23 is looking at an extremely steep hill to climb to get anywhere near passage. And just to make that hill steeper, here comes Bill Gates.

Bill Gates isn’t the world’s richest man anymore, that title belongs to Mexico’s Carlos Slim. (Or at least it did at the time of Forbes’ World Billionares list) At any rate, nobody’s crying for Gates and his $54 Billion net worth built on the Microsoft empire.

But it is nice to see that Gates, beyond his vast network of charitable giving, has found some time for a decent spot of political giving this year:

Bill Gates, the nation’s wealthiest man, has donated $700,000 to the campaign opposing the rollback of the state’s landmark climate change law.

Gates donation comes as the Obama administration has expressed its opposition to the rollback initiative and a poll released today by the Public Policy Institute of California indicates that fewer Californians support the measure.

“This shows that the leaders of the new economy realize just how important clean energy and clean air are to competing in the world economy,” said Steve Maviglio, spokesman for the No on 23 committee.(SacBee)

Just for comparisons sake. If you had $100,000 in savings, his $700,000 of his $54B fortune would be comparable to you putting in $1.29 for No on 23.  So…Mr. Gates…$1.29? Really?

At any rate, we really need to be focusing on Props 25/26 at this point. The state desperately needs a government with power to do something.  And a Yes vote on 25 for a majority vote budget along with a No on 26 for supermajority on fees, perhaps we can get there.

Sen. Jenny Oropeza, who was elected in 2006, has passed away after struggling with illness over the past few months. She was just 53.

She is still listed on the ballot for re-election in the 28th Senate district. But as of right now, I do not know how the party can go about changing the nominee. If anybody has any idea on that, please let me know.

Condolences go out to her friends and family.

Bill Clinton made his campaign stops for Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom, and the news was overwhelmingly positive.  Good press followed wherever he went, and people even waited in the rain to hear him stump for Mike Thompson in Napa:

Hundreds of hopeful fans waited for hours in the rain for the chance to hear Clinton speak at the historic Uptown Theater. Just minutes after its doors opened, the venue was packed with 850 people.

“It may be raining outside, but the sun’s shining in here,” Clinton said as the crowd cheered.

Clinton’s campaign stop in Napa was his 83rd this season, he said, in an election where anger against incumbents is motivating Republicans and tea party supporters.

Like a pastor before a devoted congregation, Clinton captivated the crowd inside the theater for nearly an hour, and challenged the idea that there was an “enthusiasm gap” between energized Republicans and apathetic Democrats.(Santa Rosa P-D)

California has always been something of an outlier. And who knows how Democrats may fare across the nation, but in California, things are looking fairly good. Brown and Boxer’s numbers are strong as their opponents have been unmasked as far too conservative for the state. As voters tune in, Carly and Meg lose them.

That is not to say that there isn’t a lot of work left.  We need to work every day until 8pm on November 2 to make sure that every possible vote makes it through the door.  This is the word of Bill Clinton as he traveled the state. And I think that is the right message for California right now. We just cannot afford Whitman or Fiorina in office.