President Barack Obama is addressing Democratic senators right now, following on his boffo Inner Harbor encounter with House Republicans last week.

Like the Republican Q&A session, there's more than a bit of political structure to the Dem event. The first senators who got a chance to stand and address the president just happen to be those who face difficult re-election fights this year--Specter of Pennsylvania, Bennet of Colorado, Lincoln of Arkansas, Boxer of California, Gillibrand of New York.

Maryland's senators were not among the questioners, but that didn't mean they both merely sat silently and listened (Ben Cardin grabbed a front-row seat).

As Obama was running through a bunch of the places he's been recently--to escape the evil influences of Washington and get out in the Real America, where he could interact with ordinary people--he got some help from a female voice in the audience, that sounded suspiciously like the Free State's senior senator, before he could get around to mentioning his recent Maryland visit.

"Baltimore!" piped up Mikulski, who had been on hand for the president's tour of a Highlandtown machine shop on Friday.

"Baltimore," responded Obama. "Had a great time in Baltimore."