M.I.A.: Pelosi, Reid Absent for Tax Cut Bill-Signing Ceremony

I'm trying not to read too much into this bit of news, but it's hard to ignore the fact that the Democrats' top two leaders on Capitol Hill would be absent during President Obama's bill-signing ceremony for the Bush tax cut extension compromise. Via Politico:

Spokespeople for both offices said the Democratic leaders would be taking care of business on the floor of the Senate and the House and wouldn't be able to make it.

“Senator Reid cannot make every bill signing and right now he is focused on taking care of everything we need to get done before the end of the session,” said Regan Lachapelle, a spokesman for Reid.

The White House released a list of names, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, of lawmakers who are expected to be there. It includes four other Republicans — Reps. Charles Boustany, Dave Camp, Tim Murphy and Dave Reichert — and a slew of Democratic House and Senate members.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters on Friday that the tax bill, which would extend the Bush-era tax cuts for the rich while keeping unemployment benefits, is a “big win” for Obama.