First Muslim In Congress Snubs Bush, Meets With Big Labor Instead
By Matt Corley

Keith Ellison, the first Muslim ever elected to Congress, hasn't even taken office yet, but he already appears to be charting his own route in Congress. The Associated Press reports that Ellison skipped a swanky private White House reception for other freshman Congressman hosted by President Bush -- and went to a reception for the AFL-CIO instead. "It wasn't even a close call," Ellison says. "Maybe one day I'll get to meet the president. He's the president, and I respect him in his role as the president, but I have exceedingly sharp differences with him on a policy level." Somehow we doubt that Ellison's complete lack of interest in hobnobbing with Bush will make him any more popular with his many conservative critics.