Who's Who at the Democratic Debate: Los Angeles

The Kodak Theater in the heart of Hollywood is more accustomed to the Oscar ceremony and the American Idol finale... But last night, it got a dose of politics -- hosting the last democratic debate before Super Tuesday (Feb. 5). Hillary and Barack went back and forth at each other... but, what interests us most at J&M is who was in the audience... Here's a glimpse at the celebs in attendance:

Forget about Denzel Washington's movie The Great Debaters. The Oscars are a whole month away, but the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood drew dozens of A-list stars for the final Democratic debate before Super Tuesday featuring contenders Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama on Thursday night. Steven Spielberg showed up wearing an Indiana Jones-type leather jacket. Leonardo DiCaprio arrived with his dad and his publicist. Stevie Wonder jumped up in glee when a question was raised about the possibility of a Clinton-Obama (or Obama-Clinton) “dream ticket.” And Quentin Tarantino, decked out in shiny sharkskin suit, even jotted down his thoughts in a spiral notebook. The first two-person debate filled the Kodak Theatre with actors, musicians, comedians, directors, studio executives, and other Hollywood types who cheered and applauded wildly after practically every answer by the candidates. Director Rob Reiner was hooting as if he was at a Dodgers game, especially gratified when Hillary responded to a question about the ongoing Bush-Clinton dynasties by saying she would “clean up” after this Bush era the same way her husband did after George H.W. Bush’s administration. “That was THE line!” said Reiner. Despite the entertainment industry’s passionate support for individual candidates, however many of those in the crowd rejected the notion that either Democrat decimated the other. “I think it was pretty evenly matched,” says Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman Michael Lynton, an Obama supporter. “It almost seemed like they agreed ahead of time to keep things civil.” [politico]