Udall to Sit With McCain, N.M. House Delegation to Sit Together

Have you heard who Sen. Tom Udall is bringing to tonight’s State of the Union speech? It’s not just his wife, Jill.

Nope, the New Mexico Democrat will also be sitting with Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the Republican candidate for president in 2008. McCain invited Udall to sit with him as part of a rare congressional attempt at bi-partisanship. The press has dubbed it “date night” at the State of the Union. To date,
more than 60 members have signed up to sit next to one of their
colleagues from a different party, according to CNN.

Traditionally, Republicans and Democrats have sat apart from each other
during the speech. The new seating arrangement, first suggested by Sen.
Mark Udall (Tom’s cousin), is a symbolic (some say silly) effort to thaw the frozen relations between the two parties.

New Mexico’s U.S. House delegation, which includes one Republican (Steve Pearce) and two Democrats (Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Lujan), will also sit together. There is no word yet if Sen. Jeff Bingaman, also a Democrat, is bringing a “date.”

McCain and Udall got to know each other well on a trip to Iraq in 2006. The families have long been associated because of their mutual Arizona ties. No word if McCain’s wife, Cindy, will join him with Sen. Udall and his wife, Jill.

“He’s looking forward to it,” Udall spokeswoman Marissa Padilla told me today.

Here’s a piece on the unconventional seating arrangement penned by Democratic strategist and CNN talking head Donna Brazile.