NEW YORK — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is avoiding a public face-off with Sarah Palin, while still raising money and votes for the Democrat who wrested the presidential nomination from her.
Barack Obama’s advisers and Clinton aides say she will resist pressure to speak out against Palin, believing it would diminish the former first lady’s stature while creating a sideshow that would only distract from the top of the ticket contest.
Clinton abruptly canceled an appearance at a rally protesting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad after learning that Palin also had been invited. Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines said she was never told that the Alaska governor would be there.
A spokeswoman for Palin, Tracey Schmitt, said of Clinton’s cancellation: “Gov. Palin believes that the danger of a nuclear Iran is greater than party or politics.”
