From the Sunday front page of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, not fully online (Here's the teaser):
Hard work and “defiant courage” are deeply rooted values at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, first lady Michelle Obama told the historically black university’s graduating class, prompting ecstatic applause from thousands who gathered Saturday to hear her on her first visit to the state [...]
She thanked her “friend” Mrs. Beebe and the governor, who sat on the stage with university and UA System officials. She also noted the presence of Lincoln, Pryor, Ross, Redus and state Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, but didn’t mention Lt. Gov. Bill Halter, who was sitting in a row behind Lincoln.
Michelle noted the presence of everyone down to Redus (the local mayor), but petulantly snubbed the state's Lt. Governor? All because Halter has the temerity to hold Blanche Lincoln accountable for her efforts to stymie Michelle's husband's agenda?
Lincoln stood on the floor of the Senate and promised to filibuster health care reform with Republicans if it had any hint of being good and effective. She brags about voting against the president's cap and trade plan. She's fought to gut the EPA's ability to regulate greenhouse gasses. She flipped on EFCA when it suddenly had a chance of passage.
Now, she and Obama both claim that she has stood by the president. So that leaves two options -- either the two of them are lying, and she hasn't stood by him. Or she has, and it turns out that Obama really didn't want EFCA, really didn't want meaningful climate legislation, and really didn't want the public option. I tend to think its the former.
But regardless, we shouldn't see such petty vindictiveness from the White House -- particularly against a fellow Democrat, and one who has a much better chance to be Senator from Arkansas next January than Lincoln.