Update [7:07pm]: Motion to seat Michigan delegation with .5 vote each carries by a vote of 19-8-0.

Update [6:55pm]: Clinton lackey Harold Ickes throws down the gauntlet, and announces that Sen. Clinton reserves the right to take up the cause of Michigan at the Credentials Committee in Denver.  Some members of the gallery are incredibly disruptive and rude.  Circus-atmosphere is palpable through the TV camera.

Update [6:47pm]: Motion for seating Michigan delegates and awarding them each .5 vote, with Sen. Clinton receiving 69 and Obama 59 delegates.

Update [6:46pm]: Motion for seating delegates from Florida and awarding them .5 vote each, 26-0-2.

Update [6:38pm]: Motion for seating 100% of the Florida delegation fails, 12-15-2.  Gallery goes wild.

The Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee is meeting now to determine the fate of the Michigan and Florida delegations to the Convention.  Howard Dean opened the meeting with a long monologue that was noteworthy for its repetitive use of the word “extraordinary” as well as its clear intent – free, uninterrupted national airtime.  As a matter of fact, it seems that everyone around the table is basking in the pale light of the television cameras.

They are charged with figuring out what to do with the delegations of Florida and Michigan. In Florida, as most Dems have pointed out, a Republican Governor and a Republican majority legislature moved up the primary date to Jan. 29th. The Florida Dems feel as though they have been hosed by their Party because they didnt have the authority to stop what was happening.

In Michigan, as few Democrats have pointed out, the Democratic legislature and Democratic Governor moved up the Michigan primary because Dem Senator Carl Levin had been (and continues to be) a major cheerleader for an earlier primary. They are trying to have their cake and eat it, too.

Stay tuned to CSPAN today as the melodrama plays out.