Rick Orlov says the worst job is the staffer assigned to shadow the other candidate's events, tape the remarks and try not to get assaulted. For Hahn the duty has fallen most often to Jeff Millman, who used to work in the mayor's press office, and for Villaraigosa it is campaign spokesman Nathan James. Orlov writes in the Daily News:

Both have been collecting their share of stories that they will be able to pass on in future campaigns.

For Millman, one recent adventure involved a Villaraigosa aide picking up his tape recorder when the young campaign worker was off answering a cell phone call. The Villaraigosa aide, who was not identified, said some obscenities on the tape before shutting it off and returning it. Needless to say, a sense of humor is invaluable.

Campaign notes: In the Times, Daniel Hernandez and Richard Fausset hit the streets with the candidates and conclude it's the unscripted moments that bring them into focus...AP's Michael R. Blood: Voters not interested...Earl Ofari Hutchinson: "Black and Latino unity is still far from a reality"...Joe Scott blogs that the impact of Miguel Contreras' death is "the unanswerable question, with the mayoral election just eight days away."

Today's street theater: Villaraigosa tours potholes in Toluca Lake, while Hahn stands at San Fernando Road and Division Street to symbolically call on Villaraigosa donor Richard Meruelo to stop blocking a high school there.