Sweet blog special: In Selma with Barack and Hillary. Rahm publically picks a side--with HRC

SELMA, AL.—Just a short time from now, Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton are poised to take to the pulpits in two churchs down the street from each other in this town marking the 42nd anniversary of a bloody struggle for voting rights.

A contingent of House members are also here, flying from Washington to bear witness. They got caught in the cross fire of the two presidential campaigns. They could choose the service to attend. Rep. Rahm Emanual (D-Ill.), is sitting in the front row at First Baptist Church–the church where Clinton will soon speak.

Emanuel was torn between the two and has been avoiding being on the record taking sides. He is a closer personal friend of Obama. The Illinois Democratic establishment is for Obama. But Emanuel is a loyalist and he would not be where he is today if not for President Clinton, for whom he worked in the White House and in his 1992 campaign.

That’s why Emanuel came out Sunday from under the table where he has been hiding. And why he is sitting in a pew right in the church where Clinton will soon speak.