Politics

Coming Together at the U.N.? Uh, No.

Hillary Rodham Clinton canceled a planned protest appearance outside the United Nations on Monday after learning that Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin would also be there. "This was never billed to us as a partisan political event," Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines told the Associated Press. Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice president of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, said Clinton accepted in August the invitation to protest Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, before Palin was tapped for the GOP ticket. Republicans offered Palin as a representative yesterday, he said. GOP campaign officials declined to confirm Palin's plans.

-- Colum Lynch