Joe Paterno said he thought long and hard about greeting Bill Clinton during a campaign event last week at Pennsylvania State University’s campus. The legendary head football coach said he felt he should perhaps meet the former president out of respect, the Associated Press reports.

In a further twist, Mr. Clinton spoke during his visit about his wife’s ties to Penn State’s football team. Both Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s father and brother played for the Nittany Lions. But in the end, Mr. Paterno took a pass on meeting Mr. Clinton, explaining: “I couldn’t vote for either one of them because I’m a Republican.”

Sen. Barack Obama fared better during a Sunday visit to Penn State. He met with Mr. Paterno’s son, Jay Paterno, an assistant football coach at the university and an Obama supporter. And he said he had a pleasant phone chat with the 81-year-old head coach himself, talking mostly about football and college sports, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.—Paul Fain