LANDSCAPE:Giuliani packs the house

I’m just back from Rudy Giuliani’s talk to a packed ballroom at the Island Hotel in Newport Beach, where people laughed, cried, and kissed campaign donations goodbye — OK, nobody cried. But they did applaud and laugh a lot.

Out of the “big three” GOP presidential contenders, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has Newport Beach Rep. John Campbell backing him, and Arizona Sen. John McCain has O.C. bigwigs Don Bren and George Argyros, but Giuliani appears to have support from Lincoln Club and New Majority folks, which will be significant for fundraising — and as that always-desired cue to voters.

Giuliani wasn’t as riveting in person as he’s apparently been before, but I don’t blame him after hearing he did at least three or possibly five events Saturday. The opener for his speech —  shepherding New Yorkers through the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks — will be a central theme of his campaign because, as Newport political player Buck Johns said, “He trumps a lot of issues when he lays that card on the table.”

It’s interesting that Republicans are flocking to support him, the same way they did Arnold Schwarzenegger, although both have taken positions that make some conservatives blanch. Both men have a sort of bankable charisma, a star power that appeals to the GOP’s pragmatic side.

For more on Giuliani’s visit to Newport Beach, see our story in Sunday’s paper.

The world of blogging

So I’ve apparently been dragged into the 21st century and am now a blogger. It’s new to me and a little strange, and feels like a responsibility of undetermined weight — sort of like waking up in Vegas with a wedding ring you weren’t wearing last night.

Besides the regular Thursday roundup in the paper and online, I’ll try to use this space to post regular updates on political news, events, and occasionally gossip, so please feel free to send me your tips, questions and feedback. You can e-mail me at alicia.robinson@latimes.com, or call my desk at (714) 966-4626.

I’m excited about blogging because it’s another, faster way to reach readers — and besides, these days everyone’s doing it. So I’ll keep the news coming, and I look forward to hearing what you think.

Slew of meetings coming up

The next week will be a bonanza of public meetings on government issues. Here are some of them: