I watched Hillary and Barack "debate", if you want to call it that, from a nosebleed seat inside the Kodak Theater.

It was more like a lovefest than anything else.  I wouldn't have been surprised afterward if both candidates had held hands and started singing "Kumbaya."

Journalists always look for conflict in these events.  There was very little.  Both Clinton and Obama went out of their way to praise each other.  I wondered if they had agreed upon a truce beforehand.

But I must say listening to them debate in person inside the auditorium is a totally different experience than watching it on TV.  There are no distracting shots of celebs in the audience for you to dwell on.  You actually focus on what the candidates are saying.

Inside the media filing room, there was very little space.  Journalists hammered away at their laptops.  I heard that several hundred reporters, including some who came from foreign countries, were denied credentials.  There just wasn't enough room.   

Downstairs, it was packed in the so-called "spin room."  That's where surrogates for the candidates try to persuade reporters that their man (or woman) won the debate.   Each "spin doctor" has a sign.   I saw the mayor and other politicians in there working the crowd.

Finally, I somehow gained admission to the CNN after-debate party at the Roosevelt Hotel.  They held it outside by the pool.  Among the celebrities:  Stevie Wonder, Kiefer Sutherland, and Steven Spielberg.