If you tuned into the State of the Union last week, you may have seen an elf trying to borrow the President’s spotlight.
Dennis Kucinich — who’s made his name as a lapdog barking at the president’s heels — made sure he was stationed near the entrance when President Bush emerged to take the podium, with Kucinich embracing the president warmly, witnesses say. It’s doubtful Denny has new devotion for Bush. But it’s certain Kucinich was working the moment to woo his one true love: camera time.
“He was smiling awfully big,” one blogger said of Kucinich. “I don’t think he was saying, ‘Drop dead.’
Another excited writer suggested that Kucinich’s embrace of the president was in the same vein as Lieberman’s “kiss” of President Bush, which helped cost him the Democratic primary for the senate seat he now holds as an independent.
“This could sink his presidential candidacy!” wrote one excited blogger.
But Kucinich’s campaign was quick to knock down the rumors. “It was not a Lieberman moment,” said spokesman Andy Junkiewicz. “He’s totally opposed to the president’s policy and plans … and he’s certainly not moving in the direction of supporting the war.”
Our guess: the Ego Formerly Known As Dennis was hitting up Bush for advice on how to weather a second presidential term. — Kevin Hoffman
This article appears in Jan 24-30, 2007.