Boehner Skips Arizona Memorial Service for Political Event in DC

The new Speaker of the House John Boehner has been earning praise -- rightly so -- for his handling of the attack on one of his chamber's members, Gabrielle Giffords. That may end soon, according to Politico.

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) turned down an offer by President Barack Obama to travel on Air Force One to Arizona for a memorial service on behalf of the victims of Saturday’s shooting, a decision that has upset some Democrats.

Boehner is instead scheduled to attend a reception on Wednesday night on behalf of Maria Cino, a former top House GOP aide who is seeking the Republican National Committee chairmanship. Boehner is backing Cino’s challenge to current RNC Chairman Michael Steele.

Boehner’s reception for Cino was first reported on Wednesday morning by POLITICO.

Senior Democrats - who to date had been impressed with Boehner’s response to the Arizona tragedy - expressed surprise at what they saw as an unmistakable misstep by the new speaker: appearing at a partisan political event on the same night as the the president, first lady Michelle Obama, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and the Arizona congressional delegation come together at the memorial service for the victims of an attack that nearly took the life of a member of the House. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) was critically wounded in Saturday’s attack, while six other people died and a dozen more were wounded.

There's not much I can really say about this story aside from that it is not a particularly good way for Boehner to make a positive impression on Americans at a time when the country is just starting to meet him.