Opinion: Make no mistake...

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...the mayor of Los Angeles is doing his best to make his presence felt in Denver at the Democratic National Convention. Antonio Villaraigosa spoke last night to the New Hampshire delegation, this morning to Florida, and is expected to speak later this week to Texas and, of course, California.

The Florida delegation was a bit giddy over a committee ruling yesterday granting full voting power on the convention floor, so perhaps it was of little moment that members seemed to be giving Villaraigosa only a sliver of their attention during his morning remarks. ‘Don’t worry,’ he said to a delegation official from the podium. ‘They are all happy to see each other, so don’t get concerned about the chatter.’

At least a few were listening, because Villaraigosa was applauded when he mentioned the Kyoto accord, healthcare and party unity. Unity, of course, is a big deal, and the L.A. mayor’s most important role here may be helping to win over the hearts, and not just the votes, of Hillary Clinton supporters. Villaraigosa was a Clinton campaign national co-chair, and if he wanted to, he could stoke the lingering resentment that some Clinton supporters feel. But he told the Florida crowd that he was a now an unabashed supporter of the Barack Obama-Joe Biden ticket.

California and Florida are quite similar, Villaraigosa said afterward. California, too, would be a swing state -- if it were not for the Latino vote. Although Florida Latinos include the state’s large and generally Republican Cuban population, the mayor said the demographics are changing, with the population being diversified with immigrants from Mexico, Honduras and other parts of Latin America. ‘Florida is going to be a blue state,’ he said.