Snub 'O War

OK. So President Bush gave his final State of the Union address the other night which, if you like recycled speeches, wasn't too bad. He droned on about how the state of the Union is strong, reminded us about how we must continue taking the fight to the enemy, and spewed some other drivel that has come to personify the SOTU speeches over the past few years. Nothing new there.

But perhaps the highlight of the evening (or, should I say, one of the highlights) was the now infamous "Senator snub job" allegedly given to Hillary Clinton by Barack Obama. As some sources have indicated, Clinton came by to acknowledge Senior Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) after the speech; during which time Obama was photographed with his back turned away from her.

Oooooooooooooh! How riveting! I haven't heard such juicy gossip since the Flint Northern/Northwestern marching band fight back in high school.

Just in case y'all can't tell from my tone, I'm being sarcastic.

From some of the blogs and op-eds I've checked out, people are suggesting that this 'snub job' makes Obama a political hypocrite: being ostensibly committed to alleviating (if not completely tearing down) bad relationships that the U.S. has created and sustained with its enemies, while not even being able to acknowledge Hillary. Normally, I'd consider that viewpoint pretty valid. But accepting a proclamation like that at face value would be so unlike me without also considering the counter; especially in light of everything that has gone down since the start of the Democratic primaries.

First, let's consider the source of this whole story: one still shot frozen in time. CNN recently aired a segment, Campaign Killers, where former and current ad executives discuss various tactics used to attack someone politically (interesting, given how CNN themselves have been known to distort the truth. Most media folks are guilty as charged in that respect). Anyway, included in those stunts are identifying the most incriminating photos you can find; even if the act -- in larger context -- is no where near as damning. Any person with even a remote sense of celebrity runs the risk of being exposed for a split second engaging in something that completely gets distorted.

Secondly, to snub someone implies that you are casually dismissing their attempt to address you directly. As far as I can tell, Senator Clinton came by to address Senator Kennedy (which I admit was an interesting move, considering that he is now endorsing Obama). Any other acknowledgment is secondary. Addressing Clinton may have been the polite thing to do. But not addressing Clinton wasn't necessarily impolite.

Lastly, lest we forget; Clinton and Obama have been involved in a series of heated exchanges lately. Though most of the blows came vicariously from hubby Bill (who -- interestingly is used to being the one getting the blows. *snicker*), B.E.T. sell-out Bob Johnson, or Hillary's staff, it's no secret that Hill has been pulling out all the stops herself as well. So if the snub was really a snub, I welcome it. In a chamber full of enemies making fake, half-assed attempts to play nice for the cameras, I welcome a second or two of realness. If anything, my view pleasure would've been increased somewhat after watching a slugfest. I mean, for a while I was a diehard devotee to the WWE for crying out loud. This snubjob is childplay in comparison. Well, I guess you could say that it's pretty child-like anyway.

- ACL