First Take: GOP candidates talk Israel. Meg Whitman’s distortion. Democrats’ demagoguery.

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Seema Mehta reports that the U.S. Senate candidates tangled over Israel on Wednesday.

George Skelton denounces the distortion and demagoguery in the governor’s race.

Shane Goldmacher reports that a new memo from Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) is aimed at the behavior of legislative staff.

Margot Roosevelt looks at widespread fraud in the state’s smog check program.