House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, addressing the California Democratic Convention last weekend, stated the apparently agreed-upon party message in regard to the Obama-Clinton scramble for the 2008 presidential nomination:

• Democrats are extremely fortunate to have two such talented, qualified candidates as Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

• Either Democratic candidate would be far more fit for the White House than Republican John McCain.

• Democrats WILL unite behind either candidate! (This last one sounded more like a marching order than a prediction.)

This unity mantra was repeated by speaker after speaker after speaker, from U.S. senators, state leaders and big-city mayors to a former U.S president (who just happens to be married to one of the candidates).

While Speaker Pelosi preached the "blah blah blah" unity gospel on Friday evening, 2,000 Golden State Democrats sat at staunchly segregated tables ... segregated not by ethnicity or gender or age, but segregated by candidate regalia: buttons galore, hats, T-shirts, tote bags and what not.

Arriving slightly late, I asked several tables (of ten) if they had a single vacant seat. At the third table I asked, a Latino man quipped in half-seriousness, "Well, since you have an Obama button on, OK... " Afforded a chance by Pelosi to cheer for either Clinton or Obama, our table rose to their feet and loudly supported the senator from Illinois, only to be given a frosty shoulder and deadly looks from two neighboring Clinton tables.

And so it went, with party leaders consistently (if occasionally half-heartedly, at least in the womens' caucus meeting) talking the unity talk, while convention delegates huddled with their own and regarded the opponent's supporters with some suspicion.

That is, until the flamboyant Willie Brown, former San Francisco Mayor and former longtime California Assembly speaker, took the podium. Willie electrified the crowd Saturday afternoon when he gave us all a much-needed history lesson on the Democratic party and presidential nominations, and on the importance of allowing every Democrat in every state to have their say in this landmark election season.

I urge everyone to watch Mayor Brown's brilliant words, in which he convinced me and most others listening that the ongoing battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, two strong candidates whom he greatly admires, is healthy for the Democratic party. Orated Mayor Brown:

"I am in LOVE with this battle! It is the best thing that has happened in a long time...

It is a way in which the Democratic party breathes life into communities, into neighborhoods, into people who never had life!"

Click here to view the entirety of Willie Brown's speech on March 29, 2008 at the California Democratic Convention in San Jose. (Brown starts at about the 1:48:00 mark for the Saturday afternoon session.)

Mind you, I'm not saying that after Willie spoke, 2,000 convention delegates experienced a collective Kumbaya moment.

What Mayor Willie Brown did was break through the angry polarization, and talked reason, logic and party health. And he talked from a perspective of deep respect for the vast electoral achievements of both of these candidates. As Willie said, who would have ever imagined a year ago that the last two standing would be a black man and a white woman?

So I take back my calls for the race to end. Sen. Clinton may be behind in delegates, votes and states, but she has every right to run. And although it may be too late for Sen. Clinton to prevail, a vigorous race only helps to make the Democratic party stronger this fall.

But I still say that less personal rancor and gutter-level blows between the Clinton and Obama camps is desperately needed...

(Photo of former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown in 2005: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)