Beyond the Dome

Clinton arrived first, sitting at her desk at the back of the chamber while Republican Sen. Orrin G. Hatch of Utah spelled out his many objections to the bill, seemingly oblivious to her presence.

She chatted with a friend, Democratic Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski of Maryland, and accepted what appeared to be congratulations from an Obama friend -- Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin of Illinois -- on her Pennsylvania primary victory last night.

Finally, after 10 minutes, Hatch finished his speech and Clinton got her turn.

She told the story of Lilly Ledbetter, the Goodyear supervisor for whom the bill was named, who discovered she was being paid less than her male colleagues but was told by the Supreme Court that she should have filed her lawsuit within 180 days of the offense.

"Clearly, we have not finished the business of guaranteeing equality in the workplace, fair and equal pay for those who do the same jobs," Clinton said. She spoke in more hushed, Senate-like tones than she uses on the campaign trail, but the speech itself wasn't too different from something a campaign audience might hear.

Clinton finished up, then headed out the door at the back of the Senate chamber.

About a minute later, Obama suddenly appeared on the floor, seemingly out of nowhere, talking to Democratic Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts. (Kennedy is the bill's sponsor, but also one of Obama's most high-profile supporters.)

As the time for the debate ran out, Obama set up a tiny lectern at his own desk, toward the end of the Democratic side of the Senate chamber. Kennedy yielded Obama all the time he had left: one minute, 30 seconds.

That left Obama to squeeze a lot into a short period of time. Let's put it this way: It was nothing like his campaign speeches.

"In the end, closing the pay gap is essential, but it's not going to be enough to make sure that women and girls have an equal shot at the American dream, which is why we're also going to have to work on issues like sick leave and prohibiting discrimination against caregivers," Obama speed-read, rushing to beat the clock.

As soon as he was done, there was an unpleasant surprise for the candidates. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky took the floor to vent his annoyance at the pains Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada took to schedule the vote around Clinton and Obama. (It's a long story involving arcane Senate rules, but the upshot is that the Senate was shut down until 5 p.m. so the vote could take place at 6 p.m.)

"Finding solutions for the concerns of all of our constituents should be our top priority, not just accommodating the travel schedules of two of our members," McConnell read in a monotone.

This was too much for Reid, who sputtered, "That is absolutely without any foundation, and I have trouble understanding how my friend would have the gall to stand on the floor and make the comment he did."

Obama didn't seem to care. He was chatting and joking with Durbin and Democratic Sens. Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Mark Pryor of Arkansas while the entire exchange took place.

When the vote came, Clinton and Obama finally shared the Senate floor -- but stuck closely to their circles of friends. Their socializing styles couldn't have been more different. Obama circulated freely, shaking hands and backclaps with colleagues. Clinton stuck to her back-row desk, engrossed in a lengthy, one-on-one conversation with Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey.

Finally, much later, one of her strongest supporters -- Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana -- joined her. That seemed to break the ice. Other senators came over to see her -- even Democratic Sen. Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, who only a few weeks ago had called on her to quit the race. (They shared a laugh that didn't seem entirely forced.)

Eventually, Clinton got up from her desk and sought out the rest of her colleagues, chatting easily with most of them, with Bayh at her side.

Obama wasn't one of them. As he prepared to leave the chamber after voting, he looked in Clinton's direction once -- while she was still deep in conversation with Menendez.

Obama paused for a second, then walked out of the chamber.