Observations. Seriously this time! Here are the little things I notice. Call it the theatrical director in me:

* When the Judge showed up, he walked past Rami to the dais. I recall hearing him say, "Good afternoon, Rami" or some other pleasant greeting. I don't recall her replying or if she did it was at a very low level. Or maybe she just smiled at him, it was hard to tell.

* No one lost the blinking battle. Both of them blinked at relatively normal rates. (Remember how Bob Dole blinked all the time when he spoke? Very put-offish.)

* When David Larsen tried to lighten the mood with a joke, the whole room laughed. Judge Mitchel laughed. Rami Amaro did not laugh.

* Jason, the photographer from the CDA Press, has the best camera gear.

* Judge Mitchel referred to Rami as Ms. Amaro. He was fairly consistent with that. Towards the end of the questioning, Ms. Amaro was referring to her opponent as "Mitchell."

* I'm guessing that most of Amaro's supporters were grouped together at or near that one table -- you know, the one she ate at (right next to Siggy) and the one with all the people wearing AMARO buttons. They were an angry bunch. Siggy himself had kind of a James Carville intensity about him.

[Sidebar: For the life of me, I can't understand why the Siegwarths are taking this out on Judge Mitchell when it was the other guy's lawyer that asked for the summary judgement. But anyway.]

* A really loud guy from Sandpoint asked a heated question, bothered by DUIs. Did anyone catch what was on his T-shirt? Anyway, I think the Judge answered his question well, but the guy was obviously still angry (and he didn't rip off his Amaro button afterwards).

* The Judge looked very comfortable. He was calm and easygoing, the kind of country lawyer-judge you'd expect to find in North Idaho. Once I thought he might be getting a little heated, but he never got angry.

* Overall, Rami held up very well. I think her "supporters," especially those who've contributed here, have done her a disservice. They are shrill, Rami is not. Still, I would recommend she try this again in 15 years when she's racked up some experience and demonstrated some sincerity.

* The Democrats were most gracious and I really appreciate that they put on this form and did it in such a classy manner. I don't recall the name of the MC, but that gentleman was terrific. I enjoy it when people get involved, and especially when a forum is presented that's open to a great mass of folks and makes everyone feel welcome. What were there, mabye 100 people there? Easy.

DanG

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