'This Week' Matchmaking Loses to Illness
After inviting Hutchison to State of Union, Conrad cancels because of a cold.
WASHINGTON, Jan 26, 2011— -- Two days before the State of the Union address, "This Week" anchor Christiane Amanpour asked Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, if she had a Democratic colleague to sit next to at Tuesday's speech. "Who's your date?" Amanpour asked.
"I don't have a date," said Hutchison.
"Kay, I'm available," interjected Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., from the "This Week" studio in Washington.
Hutchison did not respond to Conrad's offer on live television, but according to staff members, the two senators subsequently made arrangements to attend the address together. However, according to a member of Conrad's staff, he had to cancel.
"Sen. Conrad had a cold," the staff member told ABC News. "[He] didn't want to get his colleagues sick."
"When I was in high school, I always waited too long before the prom to ask for a date, so I haven't done that yet," Lieberman told "This Week."
"You've got two days," Amanpour reminded him.
"I'll be on the phone today," Lieberman assured her.
Lieberman, who was the Democratic vice presidential candidate in 2000, sat with Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., the 2004 Democratic presidential candidate, and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the 2008 Republican presidential candidate. Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., the architect of the bipartisan seating at the State of the Union address, also joined the group.