Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has canceled an appearance at a New York rally next week after organizers blindsided her by inviting Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, aides to the senator said Tuesday.
Several American Jewish groups plan a rally outside the United Nations on Sept. 22 to protest Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Organizers said Tuesday that both Clinton and Palin were to attend.
That would have set up a closely scrutinized pairing in the midst of a presidential campaign.
Clinton aides first learned of the plan to have both Clinton and Palin appear when informed by reporters.
“Her attendance was news to us, and this was never billed to us as a partisan political event,” said Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines. “Sen. Clinton will therefore not be attending.”
A McCain-Palin campaign official said that Palin tentatively planned to attend the rally.
Rally organizers did not immediately return messages late Tuesday seeking comment.
