The hugfest . . .

Dateline -- Denver: Good grief! Never did Sneed imagine I'd prompt the huge hugfest which spread like mushrooms after rain at the Illinois delegation breakfast here Wednesday.

•  •  Translation: It began with a shout-out to Sneed from U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson, distancing himself from a Sneed column item months ago about his wife, Ald. Sandi Jackson, being on a short list to fill ailing U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush's seat, if he resigned.

•  •  The buckshot: "I've never talked to you, Sneed, but I love you" is an abbreviated version of what Jackson said.

•  •  The upshot: It spread to Jackson's call for reconciliation, which prompted him to practically bolt over a table to hug Rush; which prompted Mayor Daley to hug Jackson; which prompted Jackson to tear up, claiming he's been ignored for 14 years by Hizzoner; which prompted House Speaker Mike Madigan and Gov. Blagojevich to embrace; which prompted the delegation to turn into an uproar; which caused Mayor Daley to return to the microphone with a quizzical look and state: "I love you, too, Sneed."

Only in Denver.

The bottom line: Don't take any of this too seriously, folks. By the time it was over Mayor Daley looked like he felt everyone had lost their minds. And Gov. Blagojevich quipped to Emil Jones when he saw Madigan approaching him: "Man, he is going to call me out. But I ain't crying."

The jaw-dropping huddle between Gov. Blago and House Speaker Mike Madigan at Mayor Daley's delegation party Tuesday night was not only a shocker -- it was unplanned.

•  •  To wit: Sneed hears it was orchestrated by another fella who had been on the outs with Madigan, his former chief of staff Gary LaPaille. Renewing his friendship with Madigan at Daley's party, LaPaille steered the conversation toward a reconciliation with Gov. Blago.

•  •  The upshot: Madigan headed to Gov. Blago's corner, which elicited a promise by Madigan to attend the gov's next meeting.

•  •  The backshot: LaPaille was last spotted telling a close pal he was "heading to Israel to bring peace to the Middle East."

Former President Bill Clinton, who is still stinging from the Barack attacks, has told Obama he has wiped his foreign travel slate clean and will stump for him until the election is over, according to a top Clinton source.

Guess what? Ald. Dick Mell may be eating Heinz ketchup again.

•  •  Translation: The irrepressible Mell tells Sneed he got a call from former Dem presidential contender John Kerry apologizing for his unintended role in getting two of Mell's close friends bounced from the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver earlier this week.

•  •  Background: Kerry reportedly complained to the hotel when Ald. Marge Laurino snapped pix of her pal Linda Murphy sitting next to Kerry, whose lunch was interrupted with their photo request.

•  •  Foreground: "He [Kerry] told me he feels it was an unfortunate incident and wanted a get-together with the women," Mell said.

•  •  The ketchup connection? Kerry's wife, Teresa, owns the Heinz ketchup company.

Actor Ben Affleck's relay team beat out U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin's in boxing meals for Denver's hungry Wednesday afternoon.

•  •  Ouch ouch: It didn't help that a tape gun malfunction sliced Sen. Durbin's finger while tying up a box, which helped Affleck's team, composed of actor Justin Bartha and Alicia Witt, beat out Durbin by two boxes.

. . . Thus spoke U.S. Rep.Bobby Rush, who is recovering from cancer: "It's good to be almost anywhere right now. . . . And it's better to be seen than viewed."