Clinton and Obama not on speaking terms

calteacherguy

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Fri Aug-03-07 11:20 PM
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Clinton and Obama not on speaking terms

Edited on Fri Aug-03-07 11:23 PM by calteacherguy

By Jeff Zeleny
New York Times
Updated: 2 hours, 6 minutes ago

They work in the same building. They slog through the same rigorous travel schedule. Along the way, they often cross paths several times a day.

But Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama have barely spoken to one another – at least in any meaningful way – for months.

The tension between the two Democratic presidential hopefuls, which spilled over into public view during the past two weeks, has been intensifying since January. It is clear, as the candidates approach a mid-point in their fight for the nomination, that the genteel decorum of the Senate has given way to the go-for-the-jugular instinct of the campaign trail.

As the Senate held an unusually late session of back-to-back votes on Thursday evening, the two rivals kept a careful eye on one another as they moved across the Senate floor.

For more than two hours, often while standing only a few feet apart, Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama never approached one another or exchanged so much as a pleasantry. In the clubby confines of the Senate, even the fiercest adversaries are apt to engage in the legislative equivalent of cocktail party chit-chat.

The Clinton-Obama watch has become something of a parlor game, and not only for the scribes sitting in the gallery above the Senate floor. The strained relationship between the two Democratic hopefuls also has drawn the attention of their colleagues, who are loathe to take sides, but often will rush over to chat with Mr. Obama or Mrs. Clinton if either is spotted standing alone.

Consider a scene from the Capitol on Thursday, where lawmakers worked through a long stack of amendments before passing children’s health insurance legislation (an issue presidential contenders could hardly skip).

It was a few minutes after 8 p.m. when the side doors of the Senate swung open and three Democratic candidates walked through.

Mrs. Clinton, of New York, and Senator Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut came first, laughing and smiling as they made their way to the Democratic side of the aisle. A few paces behind was Senator Joseph R. Biden of Delaware, who quickly joined the other two in a light moment. (Earlier, Mrs. Clinton and Senator John McCain , an Arizona Republican, had been trading warm banter near the front of the Senate floor, which takes on the air of a schoolyard during marathon voting sessions like these.)

Mr. Obama entered the Senate floor alone. He glanced at the other three, pulled out his Blackberry and paused for a few seconds before walking to the third row and taking a seat next to three freshman senators. As the evening passed, Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton each spoke with several Republicans in the room and to nearly every Democrat -- except each other.

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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20115151/