State of the Union as homecoming dance: Who went with whom?
Rep. Jane Harman (Katherine Frey / TWP)/ House Rules Committee minority chair David Dreier (Melina Mara/TWP)/ Rep. Maxine Waters (AP /Charles Dharapak)
What started out as an earnest symbol of bipartisan unity -- Republicans and Democrats sitting together at Tuesday's State of the Union address turned into. . . an "After School Special" about bipartisan unity.
Sen. Mark Udall first proposed the idea of crossing the aisle because, he said, the SOTU had become "like a high school pep rally." (With "you lie!" instead of "rah rah!" and mandatory standing O's instead of cheerleader pyramids) This year it was like. . . well, a second-grade Valentine exchange, or the homecoming dance?
The endless hype -- who asked who? who got dissed? -- played out over a couple days of tweets, press releases, cutesy cable-news stand-ups and strategic leaks, creating the illusion for Washington's chattering class that something historic was happening. Guess what, guys? No one's going to care tomorrow. (Full State of the Union coverage)
A brief guide to Tuesday's SOTU's hookups:
Nancy Pelosi and Roscoe Bartlett, 2009. (AP /Haraz N. Ghanbari)
Peter T. King (Ben de la Cruz/TWP)/Anthony Weiner (AP/Chris Usher)
Of course, plenty of lawmakers dismissed the whole parade as a meaningless display -- including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who claimed voters were more interested in "actual accomplishments" than the seating chart.
Or maybe he couldn't get a date. Sen. Joe Lieberman was still looking over the weekend: "When I was in high school," he told ABC, "I always waited too long before the prom to ask for a date."
Can't get enough? More SOTU dates at The Fix
Full State of the Union coverage
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The Reliable Source
| January 25, 2011; 7:00 PM ET
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Politics
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Date night!
You know, years ago congressmen and senators used to move their families here and live here. They knew each other, their kids went to the local public schools. Life was less fragmented and colleagues got to know each other. I can't say that people are better served now by having their members of Congress back in their states fundraising every weekend.
Posted by: cassandra9 | January 25, 2011 11:11 PM | Report abuse
I agree Cassandra, but if the courts' decision about Rahm is a precedent, no one will ever think about moving their families here again.
Posted by: shellyd1977 | January 26, 2011 2:46 PM | Report abuse
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell Couldn't get aq date! Who'd want to be next to that sour puss who'd just say NO?
Posted by: SpotlessCrab | January 26, 2011 5:46 PM | Report abuse
i was wondering who Barney Frank asked? He likes young attractive males so i think one of those freshman from the midwest would have been perfect fit.. Can't imagine if Hillary was still a Sen. There is not a man within 100 miles of the place that could handle her and her broom.
Posted by: doyouktt | January 26, 2011 8:10 PM | Report abuse
Hey SpotlessCrab, the other possibility is that dozens of Democrats did, in fact, invite Mitch McConnell to sit with them. He, of course, said no.
Posted by: exco | January 27, 2011 12:29 AM | Report abuse
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