Wednesday, November 1, 2006

Kerry cancels appearances

Senator John Kerry, reeling from the fall out over a remark that he calls a "botched joke,'' has canceled campaign appearances with Democratic congressional candidates, Bloomberg news reports.

Democrats are distancing themselves from the 2004 presidential nominee.

According to Bloomberg:

Kerry won't appear today in Mankato, Minnesota on behalf of Tim Walz, a Democrat challenging Republican Representative Gil Gutknecht. The decision to cancel ``ultimately'' was Kerry's, said Walz spokeswoman Meredith Salsbery.

Bruce Braley, a Democrat running for Iowa's 1st congressional seat, asked Kerry not to campaign with him tomorrow, the Quad-Cities Times reported. Braley thought Kerry's remarks were inappropriate, the paper said, citing Braley spokesman Jeff Giertz

Kerry also won't appear today in Philadelphia with U.S. Senate candidate Bob Casey, ABC News reported. Casey's race to unseat Republican Rick Santorum in Pennsylvania could be pivotal to Democrats' hopes to gain control of the Senate.

Tennessee Representative Harold Ford Jr., who is locked in a close race for retiring Majority Leader Bill Frist's Senate seat, called on Kerry to apologize.

``Whatever the intent, Senator Kerry was wrong to say what he said,'' Ford said in a statement.

Posted by David Dahl, Regional Editor at 11:57 AM

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