Essential Politics: Politicians skirmish on debate stage -- and football field

I’m Christina Bellantoni, the Essential Politics host today. Let’s get started.

The Republican candidates on the debate stage Wednesday night had several enemies. The mainstream media was the most reviled, along with the tax code, but Hillary Rodham Clinton got her fair share of attacks.

If you didn’t watch it, or if you want more, we’ve got offerings in all shapes and sizes.

You can catch up on every last moment, caught by our entire political team over at Trail Guide.

Or get four takeaways from Noah Bierman.

Or dive deep with Cathleen Decker, who finds the race has a long way to go.

If you like your analysis in video form, catch up with Decker and Seema Mehta.

GARCETTI BREAKFASTS WITH BIDEN

Peter Jamison and Mike Memoli report that Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti joined Vice President Joe Biden for breakfast Wednesday while visiting the nation’s capital this week for the Assn. of National Olympic Committees General Assembly.

Garcetti and Biden have met publicly and privately several times this year — most recently last month, when Biden dined with Garcetti at the mayoral residence in Windsor Square when he was in town for a climate-change summit. At the time, speculation over Biden jumping into the Democratic presidential primary was at a fever pitch. But nothing to read into the meeting, according to staffers for Biden, who opted against a bid last week.

"They are friends and wanted to get together," aides said when asked about the breakfast, which was not on the official schedule released by the White House.

L.A.’s mayor meanwhile has another campaign to think about — his city’s bid for the 2024 Summer Games, a contest in which L.A. is competing against Paris, Rome, Budapest and Hamburg.

CALIFORNIA MEMBERS HIT THE FIELD

And as Congress was criticized on the debate stage for operating under a French work schedule, several lawmakers were scrambling on the field in Washington during the biannual charity touch football game.

Sarah Wire was there, and reports that a team of U.S. Capitol Police pulled off a 14-6 victory over the congressmen, including four members from the California delegation.

The bipartisan congressional team included Republican Reps. Jeff Denham (Turlock), Duncan Hunter (Alpine) and David Valadao (Hanford), and Democratic Rep. Pete Aguilar (Redlands).

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FOR THE RECORD

7:42 a.m.: An earlier version of this newsletter identified Rep. Pete Aguilar as a Republican. He is a Democrat.

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Both the police and congressional teams were aided by former NFL players. The scrimmage — established in 2005 — this year raised $15,000 split evenly between Capitol Police Memorial Fund, Our Military Kids, and A Advantage 4 Kids.

Capitol Police, playing as "The Guards," have won or tied nearly every game over the congressional "Mean Machine" team. There have been seven faceoffs; Congress’ last victory came in overtime in 2009.

Denham, who plays tight end and is one of three team captains, has participated since joining Congress in 2013. He said before the game his No. 1 expectation was that people might get hurt.

"There will probably be more injuries on our side, but we’re hoping for a win," he said. (See a photo of Denham in uniform.)

Misting rain kept the score, and yardage, low. After marching down the field in the final moments, the congressional team threw an interception. The Capitol Police responded with a diving catch into the end zone to secure a win and bragging rights for the next two years.

The congressmen practiced for six weeks, showing up on the National Mall at 6:45 a.m. It’s early, but Denham said he views it as a "good chance to get Republicans and Democrats together and build relationships."

Valadao agreed, and noted the game gets members in shape and gives them "a little fun thing to talk trash with the guards about."

NANCY AND TONY

Legendary singer Tony Bennett gave Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi an award Wednesday for her efforts to stop gun violence during a dinner in Washington marking the 25th anniversary of the Brady Center’s Legal Action Project.

The two have been friends for years. Bennett was Pelosi’s guest to the 2013 State of the Union.

TODAY’S ESSENTIALS

-- Eight of California's 14 GOP House members voted for the budget deal. See which ones. More from Lisa Mascaro on the compromise plan, which passed the House 266-167, here.

-- These congressional Democrats say seconds can save lives, and are asking for funding for an earthquake early warning system.

-- Sacramento bureau chief John Myers is up with his first story analyzing the Sacramento mayoral race. Columnist George Skelton, meanwhile, offers his take that in the capital city, "it's in with the old and out with the new."

-- Wire reports that bipartisan members of the California congressional delegation sat down Tuesday afternoon for a closed briefing with representatives of "shared economy" companies including Uber, Lyft, TaskRabbit and Airbnb. Several of the companies, which connect people with others willing to provide a personal service, are headquartered in San Francisco. Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin) and Darrell Issa (R-Vista) co-chair the Sharing Economy Caucus. Swalwell and Valadao co-chair the United Solutions Caucus. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) also attended the meeting.

LOGISTICS

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