The debate in Los Angeles is underway. It's the first head to head showdown between these two just days before Super Tuesday -- meaning the stakes couldn't be higher -- and it opens with both candidates taking steps to rise above the recent political skirmishing with each other, and both praising John Edwards, whose endorsement is now the most coveted in the race.

Obama seeks to cast the recent acrimony as a sign of just how much is at stake: "We are running a competitive race, but it's because we both love this country, and we believe deeply in the issues that are stake. I believe we're in a defining moment in our history. Our nation is at war, our planet is in peril."

Meanwhile, Hillary gave a nod towards Edwards by saying that her health care plan covers everyone, just as, she pointed out, Edwards' plan did.

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More soon.