California's politicos, lobbyists and interest groups are riveted on the Capitol right now - wondering if Jerry Brown can pull off a deal.  Republican strategist Rob Stutzman worked for Brown's opponent, Meg Whitman.  He says the governor has a lot at stake in the next few days:

Stutzman: "He has to demonstrate he can actually get a deal done.  And I think there's a lot of pressure on him."

Of course, should he succeed, the potential upside is big, too...

Stutzman: "He will have cleared the first hurdle spectacularly if he can actually pull a deal off here sometime in the next few days."

Five GOP Senators are talking privately with Governor Brown about issues like pension and regulatory reforms and a spending cap.  The question, Stutzman says, is how far Brown will move on those items - and whether the governor can convince Democrats and their stakeholders to come with him.