Daily Kos and My DD are out at the California Democratic Party's annual conference in Sacramento. We read an AP article about how Edwards got booed for his pro-war stance and Dean got cheered for his anti-war stance, but Kos' first hand reporting is just so much better. Here's Kos:

Edwards spoke in support of the Iraq war and all hell broke loose. The entire convention hall resonated in boos, the crowd chanting "no war! No war!" It was an amazing sight, and Edwards seemed a bit taken aback. Jerome thought it looked like '68. Edwards recovered with a line about Ashcroft, but the damage was done. The 20 or so brave souls waving Edwards signs were suddenly radioactive.

After a string of California officials, including the radioactive Davis, and our wonderful Boxer and Pelosi (both of them my heroes), it was Dean's turn.

By now, the whole program was running about an hour late. It was noon, and restless delegates milled around wondering about lunch. It seemed like a bad start by Dean. But suddenly, easily over half the delegates (and there were roughly 1,200) started waving Dean signs. And from the first note he didn't disappoint.

He started by blasting Bush's invasion, and the crowd was instantly hooked. It was electrifying. The whole convention center hushed, hanging on his every words (only Rep. Maxine Waters had a similar effect). Dean raised the rhetoric gradually, drawing louder applause each time. People were loving it. He uttered Wellstone's line: "I'm here to represent the Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party". People went wild. His speech was repeatedly interrupted by chants of "we want Dean!".

But the most amazing part was the finale, with a fiery Dean pounding the podium:

I want my country back!

I don't want to listen to fundamentalist preachers anymore!

When Dean uttered this last line, the whole place went nuts. Utter pandemonium. It was literally one of the most amazing sights I have ever seen.

On Al Sharpton:

Sharpton was the last speaker for the day, and like Dean, he rocked the house. I'm fully convinced that Sharpton is a positive for the Democrats -- proving wrong initial fears he would divide the party.

Indeed Sharpton is the king of the one-liners.

On the costs of occupying Iraq: "We already occupy 50 states, and we haven't come up with the cost of that".

On affirmative action: The best example of a set-aside program is Bush. How can I say that? The Supreme Court set aside a whole election to make him president."

On religious wingnuts: "It's time for the Christian Right to meet the right Christians."

But most interesting of all? Sharpton never once said "vote for me" or "I'm running for president". He's in the race to move the debate left, and he's doing a beautiful job of it.

Update: Dean spoke in Denver Saturday night, here's the report.