Whatever it is a Lieutenant Governor does in Sacramento must not be as important as the sailboat race in San Francisco because Gavin Newsom has accepted the title of "Ambassador at Large" to the America's Cup. Even though he's already been out and about talking up the race, the official role means he'll be putting his long record of schmoozing to good use while he drums up millions in private donations to ensure the city makes good on all the promises it made in its bid to San Francisco Hall of Fame member Larry Ellison and his Oracle Race Team. (BMW, by the way, recently bowed out as a sponsor to Ellison's team.)

As a race spokeswoman explained: "[Newsom] brings such passion to everything he does. So having him in this role is really going to help us continue to elevate the America's Cup." Let's hope he can get all those duties done early - he's going to want to start working on his next big political campaign by the time the race rolls around in 2013.

[CBSLocal]