Obama says not invited to Chelsea Clinton wedding
(Agencies)
2010-07-30 11:15
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WASHINGTON? – US President Barack Obama said Thursday he was not invited to Chelsea Clinton's nuptials -- reasoning the security footprint of two presidents at one wedding would have spoiled the event.
Chelsea Clinton, 30, is to marry investment banker Marc Mezvinksy, 32, outside a town in New York state this weekend, and tight security measures will be in place to protect her famous parents, Bill and Hillary Clinton.
"I am not going and I have to say, it would be tough enough having one president at a wedding, you don't want two presidents at a wedding," Obama said on the ABC daytime talk show "The View."
"I was not invited because I think that Hillary and Bill, properly, want to keep this as a thing for Chelsea and her soon-to-be husband," Obama said.
Obama, who waged a bitter Democratic primary struggle with Hillary Clinton for the party's 2008 presidential nomination, has established a close working relationship with his former rival, whom he made Secretary of State.
Earlier, the Federal Aviation Authority ordered the closure of airspace under 2,000 feet (610 meters) over the Astor Courts estate just outside Rhinebeck, where the wedding will take place.
The ban, termed "temporary flight restrictions for VIP (Very Important Person) Movement," runs from 3:00 pm Saturday, the day of the wedding, to 3:30 am Sunday.
The move is aimed at paparazzi photographers who routinely attempt to sneak exclusive pictures from the air of events being kept under heavy security.