Blah blah handshake blah blah snub blah blah passed me a note in study hall.
For those that were paying attention to Bush's (thankfully) final State of the Union Address, there was a moment when Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton had a very revealing moment.
Not about whether they like each other, or whether they're versed on Washington etiquette.
Nope.
It's about getting our troops home from a place called "Iraq."
The details below the fold.
The Hill, unlike the gossip mongers in the press gallery, was paying attention.
Clinton and Obama’s divergent views on the troop surge in Iraq, however, were plainly visible.
When Bush proclaimed, "Ladies and gentlemen, some may deny the surge is working, but among terrorists there is no doubt," Clinton sprang to her feet in applause but Obama remained firmly seated. The president’s line divided most of the Democratic audience, with nearly half standing to applaud and the other half sitting in stony silence.
Yep. Hillary stood up for Bush's escalation.
But, she really doesn't think the surge is working. Or, she's just in general election mode. Or, she doesn't think it should have been done, but what else are we supposed to do.
This is what happens when she doesn't have Mark Penn to provide the right answer.
Or, when she forgets to look over Barack Obama's shoulder:
In one instance Clinton appeared to gauge Obama’s response before showing her own.
When Bush warned the Iranian government that "America will confront those who threaten our troops, we will stand by our allies, and we will defend our vital interests in the Persian Gulf" Obama jumped up to applaud. Clinton leaned across Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.), seated to her left, to look in Obama’s direction before slowly standing.
I bet she plays a killer game of "Simon Says."
Blog reaction.
But, the news wasn't all bad for Senator Clinton yesterday. While Obama was getting Ted, Patrick, and Caroline Kennedy, Senator Clinton got two great progressives herself--Alan Dershowitz and Paul Berman.
Dershowitz has devoted his life in recent years to discrediting the careers and reputations of critics of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories, slavishly defending Israel against any and all comers, no matter the validity of their point.
Berman (no relation) was the intellectual architect behind the liberal hawks case for war in Iraq, which he described as a "Lincolnian war, a war for the liberation of others."
TNR asked fourteen authors/intellectual to endorse candidates. Dershowitz and Berman, given their hawkish worldviews, were the ones who immediately jumped out. Their words aren't likely to boost Clinton's standing in progressive political circles.
"I favor the nomination of a centrist Democrat, one who is capable of attracting independents, moderates, and the growing number of anti-Bush Republicans," Dershowitz writes. "Hillary Clinton understands this and has not pandered to the extreme left of her party."
Berman also likes the idea of Clinton in the war room. "A candidate like Hillary, who participated in the decisions that toppled Slobodan Milosevic, is nicely situated to argue that, on the topic of military stand-offs and far-away dictators, she possesses a superior understanding."
Berman also offers Clinton a rather counterproductive piece of advice: "I think it wouldn't do her any harm to acknowledge that, now and then, John McCain has been right."
Obama, on the other hand, was left with the table scraps of the Kennedy legacy and the endorsement of 80 attorneys for Guantanamo detainees. Because, though he won't stand up for Bush's escalation, he will stand up for the Constitution and international human rights.
A reminder that, though the economy is suffering, foreign policy matters a great, great deal.
UPDATE: The entire quote from Bush. You can judge for yourself whether it was a good idea to stand up and applaud:
Last month, Osama bin Laden released a tape in which he railed against Iraqi tribal leaders who have turned on al Qaeda and admitted that coalition forces are growing stronger in Iraq. Ladies and gentlemen, some may deny the surge is working, but among the terrorists there is no doubt. Al Qaeda is on the run in Iraq, and this enemy will be defeated. (Applause.)