Snub: Press finds something to obsess on
The news of the day doesn't seem to be yesterday's Kennedy endorsement, or Florida, or Obama's expected endorsement by Gov. K. Sebelius in Kansas. It's the press corps' group perception that Obama "snubbed" Hillary while Ted Kennedy shook her hand last night before the State of the Union.
Still shots record the moment, but really don't capture it. It's the kind of thing reporters hot for a story can see differently than normal people, and we haven't seen video yet. Obama's camp is saying he was trying to deal with the "awkwardness" of the moment and give Ted and Hillary a private moment. But here's the description from the press gallery, via Tribune's Swamp:
"When members of the Senate entered the chamber, Obama came in before Clinton. He went out of his way to greet as many House members as possible and walked halfway across the chamber to greet members of the Supreme Court, the president's cabinet, the military joint chiefs.
"That made what happened next even more striking. Obama returned to stand by his seat next to Sen. Edward Kennedy who endorsed Obama today in a widely watched event that reverberated across the political world.
"As Clinton approached, Kennedy made sure to make eye contact and indicated he wanted to shake her hand. Clinton leaned towards Kennedy over a row of seats and Kennedy leaned in towards her. They shook hands.
"Obama stood icily staring at Clinton during this, then turned his back and stepped a few feet away. Kennedy may've wanted to make peace with Clinton but Obama clearly wanted no part of that."
A picture from a different angle after the jump.
E-mail
Facebook
Digg
Delicious
Comments (10)
So basically, Obama is a child.
As seen in the first picture, but cut off in the 2nd, Obama is talking to Missouri Senator Calire McCaskill at the time Clinton comes over. This wasn't a snub, he was just engaged in a conversation with another Senator.
Yes, not only is Obama arrogant, but he's also immature. Do we want someone like that leading the country?
I am left to wonder how many tears the powerful Sen. Rodham-Clinton shed over this one.
Great story. What is this middle school? How is this relevant to anything?
End the Clinton reign!
Obama is one arrogant rude dude! He just lost my vote. I'm proudly voting for Hillary Clinton!
"He just lost my vote. I'm proudly voting for Hillary Clinton!"
If he lost your vote for this (yeah, *right*), I hope you're smart enough to know which lever to pull.
Senator Obama just lost my vote. He was a crybay, and he needs to grow up. Can't stand someone that childish and petty in the WH.
This doesn't represent the real context. Snub? Hillary isn't even looking at him. He's stepping aside and (according to a live witness) he was making an earnest attempt not to 'hover'. I'm sure we could come up with 500 different scenarios and potential exchanges if we wanted. The 'Snub' angle is convenient for the media. Love lost? No. Snub? I don't think either of them are that stupid, however Hillary will take this 'gift' and run with it. Just like she'd go against an agreement to campaign in certain states that had their delegates pulled. As I heard one blogger say, "she'd bite the head off a kitten to get elected".
Do you really want to make a determination on one photo? Rediculous.
Do I really want to make a determination on one photo? No, but if I did I would say this is staged. This was not a friendship unity gathering. Last I heard she was running for office. She needs to run the race and save the handshakes (photo ops) for a later date. I don't know about the rest of you but this gender card PR strategy is tired
I'd like to know her stand on healthcare (now & then- way back she was on the reform committees- what was accomplished again?), what's her stand on the war, whats her stand on current events and where is Senator Clinton when it comes to handling her own state?
Where is she on the fallout and health concerns of NYC's finest that went in to clean up after 9/11? Those brave folks currently have a LOT of health issues, does Hillary acknowledge it? No, none of that matters as long as she can play a lame gender card. Oh you poor little thing.
She needs to get up off her butt & show the world that a strong woman gets the job done. As a strong, confident woman in business, I don't buy whats she's selling for a minute. These ploys come across as fake, weak and frankly it makes me question her motives and integrity. I have no confidence that she can handle the real world. I also secretly wish Bill would shut up and let the woman talk. But that's a whole other issue and or campaign.
You know what? As much as I would like to see a woman president, I'll wait for the next one. Hillary needs to show the world she's tough and can handle a war. From the looks of the photo above it would appear Ms. Clinton can't handle someone not acknowledging her.