Obama Snubs Clinton at State of the Union

Dem political theater overshadows Bush's lame-duck address
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 29, 2008 8:45 AM CST
Obama Snubs Clinton at State of the Union
Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., left, talks with Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. as fellow presidential hopeful, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., shakes hands upon their arrival for President Bush's State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress, Monday Jan....   (Associated Press)

Forget President Bush's last hurrah, it was Barack Obama’s snub of Hillary Clinton that had the press box chattering last night, reports the Chicago Tribune. After greeting seemingly the entire room, including the Supreme Court and the Joint Chiefs, Obama was standing by his seat next to Ted Kennedy when Hillary Clinton leaned over to shake Kennedy's hand. Kennedy—despite his Obama endorsement earlier in the day—responded warmly. Obama watched icily, then turned and stepped away.

Democrats could barely conceal their eagerness to get Bush’s last State of the Union address behind them, the New York Times notes, sitting out most of the president's applause lines, and indulging in some snickering. Some chanted, “Bring them home, bring them home,” when Bush addressed the war in Iraq. “Next year we’ll have a different president, which I look forward to,” said Harry Reid. (More Barack Obama stories.)

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