海角大神

Republican Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and President Obama got into a little tiff at the airport in Phoenix yesterday, if you haven鈥檛 heard. Governor Brewer was waiting at the bottom of the steps when Obama alighted from Air Force One. She handed him a letter, they started talking, and things quickly got, well , out of hand. According to photos from the scene, at one point Brewer appears to be waving her finger in Obama鈥檚 face.

Was Brewer disrespecting the President of the United States?

Well, she says she wasn鈥檛. At least she says she wasn鈥檛 deliberately waving her digit up around his eyeballs in a threatening manner.

鈥淲hen I talk I am animated and I talk with my hands,鈥� last night on Fox. 鈥淭he picture was probably shot when I was moving my hands around.鈥�

However, Brewer went on to describe Obama as 鈥渢hin-skinned.鈥� He was complaining about how she had depicted a White House meeting between them in her memoir, 鈥淪corpions for Breakfast,鈥� she said.

The subject of that meeting was Arizona鈥檚 tough law cracking down on illegal immigrants, which Brewer signed into law and the administration opposes.

鈥淚t was [as] though President Obama thought he could lecture me, and I would learn at his knee,鈥� she wrote. 鈥淗e thinks he can humor me and then get rid of me.鈥�

Well, we鈥檝e got a couple of things to say about this.

First, if Brewer鈥檚 account of the incident is accurate, why did Obama bring the book up? 聽

Somebody who wrote a book with that title like 鈥淪corpions for Breakfast鈥澛爄sn鈥檛 going to shy from a fight, rightly or wrongly. President Bill Clinton would have eased the moment with a joke 鈥� handed her a scorpion paperweight, perhaps 鈥� and then pulled Arizona鈥檚 Medicaid funds when she wasn鈥檛 looking.

Second, the subject is fraught right now, so maybe they鈥檙e both on edge. The fate of Arizona鈥檚 immigration bill is before the Supreme Court, which will make a decision prior to the 2012 election. The bill requires local police to check the immigration status of anyone they detain who they suspect is here illegally, among other things. The high court decision could shape US immigration policy for a generation 鈥� so when that comes down, the finger-wagging thing will seem like a minor blip.

Third, politically-speaking, the incident may help both parties.

Look at how it鈥檚 already boosted Brewer鈥檚 profile: she was on Fox discussing it only hours after it was over. Twitter is full of people who want Newt Gingrich to name her his vice-presidential choice. That wasn鈥檛 happening a day ago. And right now, Obama isn鈥檛 doing great in Brewer鈥檚 state, so the finger-wagging shouldn鈥檛 hurt her at home.

A Public Policy Polling poll from last November put Obama鈥檚 approval rating in Arizona at . According to PPP, right now Obama trails Mitt Romney in a head-to-head match-up by around six points.

That said, Arizona is a state Obama could conceivably win in the fall. Its large Hispanic population might be energized by the president鈥檚 stance on immigration, and could rally around him due to their own governor鈥檚 hard-line position. The more threatened Hispanics feel, the more they might turn out in November.

鈥淎n Obama victory in Arizona next year isn鈥檛 completely outside the realm of possibility, but it looks like an uphill climb,鈥� in November.