海角大神

President Obama and his former secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, will be at the same party on Martha鈥檚 Vineyard on Wednesday. Will their inevitable encounter be awkward?

After all, Mrs. Clinton鈥檚 criticism of her former boss鈥檚 foreign policy is biggish news at the moment. In an interview in The Atlantic with Jeffrey Goldberg published last weekend, Clinton rebuked Mr. Obama for his organizing approach to the world.

鈥淕reat nations need organizing principles, and 鈥榙on鈥檛 do stupid stuff 鈥榠s not an organizing principle,鈥� said Clinton, referring to a phrase Obama and his advisers have used to summarize their thinking about global action.

The possible 2016 presidential hopeful hit Obama鈥檚 actions in Syria in particular, saying it was a 鈥渇ailure鈥� to not arm moderate rebels fighting the government of Bashar al-Assad.

Now Obama and Clinton will be face-to-face at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Farm Neck Golf Club on the Vineyard. Well, maybe not face-to-face right off 鈥� more like circling in the same general area. The occasion is an 80th birthday party for Democratic philanthropist Ann Dibble Jordan, thrown by her husband, party power broker Vernon Jordan.

Our prediction: hugs and kisses all around.

Why? First of all, when members of a two-term administration run for president, it鈥檚 almost required that they do something to differentiate themselves on important policy issues. That shows they are their own person and gets them away from the shadow of the incumbent鈥檚 popularity ratings, if they鈥檙e low. Which they are, in this case.

Given Clinton鈥檚 decades in national politics, she knows this well 鈥� so well that conservatives charge her criticisms are just cynical political posturing.

鈥淗illary鈥檚 every move is judged as a tactical or strategic maneuver,鈥� writes Jonah Goldberg in the right-leaning National Review.

Second, Clinton has long been more hawkish than the guy who beat her in the 2008 Democratic primaries. That was a problem for her back then, remember? As a senator, she had voted in favor of the Iraq War.

So, in that sense, the president will be unsurprised at what she鈥檚 saying, particularly if she made those same arguments 鈥� and lost on issues such as intervention in Syria 鈥� while a member of the administration.

Of course, Clinton鈥檚 criticism might still sting. Obama鈥檚 been grumbling that complaints from Clinton and other Democrats about his Syria policy are bull excrement, according to some reports.

But 鈥� and here鈥檚 our final point 鈥� the nature of the occasion will ensure the lid stays on. Mr. Jordan鈥檚 legal work helped force integration of Southern universities. He was a field director of the NAACP when Obama and Clinton were toddlers. Since then he鈥檚 built himself into a powerhouse fundraiser and behind-the-scenes fixer in D.C. In short, he鈥檚 a towering figure in the party.

Would Obama or Clinton make a scene at his wife鈥檚 80th birthday celebration, or do anything to introduce tension into the gathering? We think not.

But we鈥檝e been wrong before.