Surely we were all happy to learn that David Goldman and his 9-year-old son, Sean, were reunited after a five-year international custody battle today. Following a ruling by the Brazilian Supreme Court, the two flew back to the United States and will spend the holidays at Disney World in Orlando.

CNN reports on the ending of this dramatic battle today. But something appears to be missing from the news article: The party of Rep. Chris Smith, who has stood by the side of constituent David Goldman during his time in Brazil.

Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey, who flew to Rio to support constituent Goldman, called the father-son reunion “extraordinary” in a conference call with reporters.

The lawmaker said “there were lots of smiles, hugs” when the two were reunited. “They talked about basketball, the snowfall in New Jersey just recently and how much fun it is to play in the snow.”

Smith is a strong Republican, but you wouldn’t know that from this report.

But big deal, right? They’re simply leaving politics out of this. Um, not so much…

U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-New Jersey, had placed a hold on a trade bill that would have benefited Brazil to the tune of $2.75 billion, but he lifted it after the court’s ruling, spokesman Caley Gray said.

Ah, now we’re talking political party identification when it comes to something positive a Democrat did. Amazing. We’re also told that Secretary of State Clinton was active in the case, though the battle spans back five years and would’ve occurred under at least one other State Department chief.

Surprise.