# President Obama will not attend Justice Scalia's funeral **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [February 19, 2016, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-will-not-attend-justice-scalias-funeral/746550 "2016-02-19T13:59:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-will-not-attend-justice-scalias-funeral/746550/21 "2016-02-19T17:54:11Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Scalia boycotted Obama’s SOTU addresses; he deserves to be countersnubbed in death. It’s only fair to point out that Scalia regularly skipped the SOTU (16 years in a row as of 2013, according to [here](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/scalia-state-of-the-union-has-turned-into-a-childish-spectacle/)), without regard to who was giving the speech. I don’t think he specifically snubbed Obama. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-will-not-attend-justice-scalias-funeral/746550/22 "2016-02-19T18:11:00Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > From what I heard on the radio, Scalia’s family are not the biggest fans of Obama, but that Scallia did have a good relationship with Biden. So even though they aren’t going to come out and publicly uninvite the president, there may have been some behind the scenes communication indicating that they would prefer to have the vice president there rather than the president. > > But the Right wing spin machine will make hay where it can. Speculating about what may have happened behind the scenes is also spin, however. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-will-not-attend-justice-scalias-funeral/746550/23 "2016-02-19T18:18:41Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Looks like Ted Cruz changed his mind and will the funeral. It would have looked very bad for him to skip it while blaming Obama for the same thing Hopefully the Rubio team is able to snag a photo of him shaking hands with one of the liberal justices. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-will-not-attend-justice-scalias-funeral/746550/24 "2016-02-19T18:26:02Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > It’s only fair to point out that Scalia regularly skipped the SOTU (16 years in a row as of 2013, according to [here](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/scalia-state-of-the-union-has-turned-into-a-childish-spectacle/)), without regard to who was giving the speech. I don’t think he specifically snubbed Obama. And in fairness, Obama has skipped all of Scalia’s funerals and not singled out this one. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-will-not-attend-justice-scalias-funeral/746550/25 "2016-02-19T18:28:13Z")
Figures that they will bury him at Arlington cemetery, with the real national heroes. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-will-not-attend-justice-scalias-funeral/746550/26 "2016-02-19T19:18:05Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > It’s only fair to point out that Scalia regularly skipped the SOTU (16 years in a row as of 2013, according to [here](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/scalia-state-of-the-union-has-turned-into-a-childish-spectacle/)), without regard to who was giving the speech. I don’t think he specifically snubbed Obama. I skip the State of the Union Speech every chance I get. I also skip funerals. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-will-not-attend-justice-scalias-funeral/746550/27 "2016-02-19T19:27:12Z")
Get real, whether Obama attends the funeral or not there are Republicans that will find a reason to be outraged. Obama’s mere existence offends some people. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-will-not-attend-justice-scalias-funeral/746550/28 "2016-02-19T19:30:20Z")
I think it is a little unfair to criticize Obama for not attending, what with his busy schedule and all. It’s not like he has the time to go to funerals for every [Tom, Ted, and Walter](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/06/22/a-list-of-the-prominent-funerals-president-obama-has-and-has-not-attended/). Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-will-not-attend-justice-scalias-funeral/746550/29 "2016-02-19T19:52:20Z")
Good point. Obama has indeed gone to other funerals. Busted! ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-will-not-attend-justice-scalias-funeral/746550/30 "2016-02-19T20:07:53Z")
Scalia was an activist judge who put conservative politics above the United States Constitution. Obama shouldn’t go to his funeral, and neither should Biden. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-will-not-attend-justice-scalias-funeral/746550/31 "2016-02-19T20:08:08Z")
If the Scalia family politely requested that Obama not attend, we’d never know about it unless someone leaked it (and it’d be a jerk move for the President, or his office, to proclaim that the Scalia family asked they not come). That seems as likely as any other reason. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-will-not-attend-justice-scalias-funeral/746550/32 "2016-02-19T21:01:09Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I think it is a little unfair to criticize Obama for not attending, what with his busy schedule and all. It’s not like he has the time to go to funerals for every [Tom, Ted, and Walter](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/06/22/a-list-of-the-prominent-funerals-president-obama-has-and-has-not-attended/). > > Regards, > Shodan As I said, if Obama had announced that he WAS going to attend Scalia’s funeral, the wingnuts would have been outraged at the evil Obummer for desecrating St. Antonin’s funeral by his presence. They were going to be outraged regardless, because being outraged at Obama is what they do. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-will-not-attend-justice-scalias-funeral/746550/33 "2016-02-19T21:59:55Z")
I have no issues with the President not going to the funeral, especially since Biden is going and Biden had a closer relationship to Scalia. But if Ginsburg kicks it this year, I expect the President to stay in the White House in that situation too. ---
**Author:** ![slash2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@slash2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slash2k)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-will-not-attend-justice-scalias-funeral/746550/34 "2016-02-19T22:19:00Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > I have no issues with the President not going to the funeral, especially since Biden is going and Biden had a closer relationship to Scalia. > > But if Ginsburg kicks it this year, I expect the President to stay in the White House in that situation too. Why? I don’t know anything about the personal relationship between Ginsburg and Obama, or between Ginsburg’s family and the president, and I think that should be among the determining factors. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-will-not-attend-justice-scalias-funeral/746550/35 "2016-02-19T22:34:41Z")
It would make him look small, like he didn’t want to attend Scalia’s funeral because of his ideology. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-will-not-attend-justice-scalias-funeral/746550/36 "2016-02-19T22:38:44Z")
If ya didn’t nominate him, why bother? ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-will-not-attend-justice-scalias-funeral/746550/37 "2016-02-19T22:55:20Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > Scalia was an activist judge who put conservative politics above the United States Constitution. Obama shouldn’t go to his funeral, and neither should Biden. Where’s mah LIKE button… ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-will-not-attend-justice-scalias-funeral/746550/38 "2016-02-19T23:11:00Z")
He’d be criticized whether he went or not. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![slash2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@slash2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slash2k)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-will-not-attend-justice-scalias-funeral/746550/39 "2016-02-19T23:17:39Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > It would make him look small, like he didn’t want to attend Scalia’s funeral because of his ideology. Bush 43 went to Rehnquist’s funeral but not to Byron White’s. Was Bush therefore “small” for not attending the funeral of one of the longest-serving justices ever? Two sitting justices died during Eisenhower’s tenure: Ike went to Fred Vinson’s funeral, but only sent flowers for Robert Jackson a year later. Did that make him look “small”? In the past 65 years, there have only been three justices (besides Scalia) who died while still on the bench. One got flowers but no president, one got a president who attended but did not speak, and one got a presidential eulogy. What pattern or tradition do you discern? ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-will-not-attend-justice-scalias-funeral/746550/40 "2016-02-19T23:21:52Z")
> [@slash2k](#): > > What pattern or tradition do you discern? The one that says Obama sucks? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-will-not-attend-justice-scalias-funeral/746550.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-obama-will-not-attend-justice-scalias-funeral/746550.md?page=3)