It’s only fair to point out that Scalia regularly skipped the SOTU (16 years in a row as of 2013, according to here), without regard to who was giving the speech. I don’t think he specifically snubbed Obama.
Speculating about what may have happened behind the scenes is also spin, however.
Hopefully the Rubio team is able to snag a photo of him shaking hands with one of the liberal justices.
And in fairness, Obama has skipped all of Scalia’s funerals and not singled out this one.
Figures that they will bury him at Arlington cemetery, with the real national heroes.
I skip the State of the Union Speech every chance I get. I also skip funerals.
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.
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.
Regards,
Shodan
Good point. Obama has indeed gone to other funerals. Busted!
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.
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.
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.
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.
It would make him look small, like he didn’t want to attend Scalia’s funeral because of his ideology.
If ya didn’t nominate him, why bother?
Where’s mah LIKE button…
He’d be criticized whether he went or not. :rolleyes:
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?
The one that says Obama sucks?