Barbara Boxer

DENVER - U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer once again rejected the questioning of reporters on Wednesday, wondering whether Sen. Hillary Clinton has done enough to shift emphasis from her to presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Barack O'Bama.

"They (the media) just don't get it," Boxer (D-Calif.) said. "I ask you, our delegates. Are we united for Barack Obama? The answer is yes we are!"

Boxer credited Clinton for her primetime speech Tuesday night at Pepsi Center where she made plain, at least to many observers, that she expects her supporters to fully line up behind the Illinois senator's candidacy.

DENVER—Barbara Boxer just spoke to the convention, one of eight female Democratic senators (none of them named Hillary Clinton) to offer brief remarks. (This parade of women was introduced with a video message from Clinton.) Boxer spoke optimistically about the party’s prospects this fall, both in the presidential race and in Senate contests.

“When it comes to the United States Senate,” she said, “60 is the new 50.”

But if Democrats do make major gains this year, it could complicate Boxer's own political future.

Below is a list of notable Californians scheduled to speak at the Democratic National Committee on Tuesday. All times are local to Denver (MDT).

California's two senators and new vice presidential pick U.S. Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) are no strangers to each other.

In fact, they've often worked together on legislation and such topics as opposing or endorsing judicial nominees.

U.S. Sen. Barbara BoxerDemocratic U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer of California has added her name to those opposing Proposition 11, a redistricting initiative.

A press release from the anti-11 group Citizens for Accountability quoted Boxer as saying in a letter to the group that she was concerned that the measure would put too much power in the hands of too few unaccountable people.

Every six years, Republicans begin to display some confidence in their ability to beat Barbara Boxer in a race for the United States Senate. They only came close once, back in 1992 when Boxer was running statewide for the first time; she defeated conservative commentator Bruce Herschensohn by 48%-43% margin. The GOP had high hopes in 1998 when they ran State Treasurer Matt Fong, but he lost 53%-43%. They were less optimistic in 2004 despite the candidacy of Bill Jones, who had won two statewide elections as Secretary of State; Boxer won that race 58%-39%.

SAN FRANCISCO - U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer called a press conference Monday to criticize the Bush Administration's lack of a national energy policy and the president's recent call to begin offshore outer continental shelf oil drilling.

Speaking in a conference room at the historic San Francisco Ferry Building, Boxer (D-California) lambasted Bush for his call to begin offshore oil exploration in ecologically-sensitive waters that up until recently have been thought politically off limits.

Boxer said she had zero confidence in recent Senate Republican assurances that increased drilling will not lead to environmental damage from spills.

U.S. Sen. Barbara BoxerFed up with what she said was open favoritism toward polluters, California's junior U.S. senator, Barbara Boxer, called this week for the resignation of Stephen Johnson, head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The San Francisco-based Democrat said Johnson has consistently sided with polluters instead of fighting global warming and other ecological problems.

Boxer was joined in her call for Johnson to resign by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.

Don't expect California's U.S. senators to be a presidential runningmate. In a survey of the U.S. Senate's membership not already running for president on whether they'd accept an offer to be vice president, The Hill newspaper found a variety of responses to the veepstakes question. Some were accompanied by laughs, others took the question seriously.

So, how did Democrats Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein respond?

Is there a 2010 dream team for the California GOP?  One Republican official, who asked that his name not be used, says he’s been talking up a slate that includes former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina for U.S. Senate (against Barbara Boxer), former E-bay CEO Meg Whitman for Governor, and Steve Poizner, the state Insurance Commissioner, for Lieutenant Governor.  That’s a ticket with a net work of nearly $3 billion.