Walz minus Kerry draws more than McCain plus Pawlenty plus Gutknecht
by Leigh Pomeroy
At Minnesota State University Mankato Wednesday, 1st District Congressional candidate Tim Walz attracted nearly 400 to a rally that was supposed to have featured 2004 Democratic Presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry.
Kerry opted out of the visit because of a flap over a misstatement he made to a group of college students in California. He said, "Education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, and you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."
According to Reuters and other sources, a statement similar to this is part of his regular stump speech for Democratic candidates. What he is supposed to say and what he presumably usually says is "You end up getting us stuck in a war in Iraq. Just ask President Bush."
However, Republicans from President Bush on down have artfully used the national media amplifier to denounce Kerry for his literal words, implying that he doesn't support American soldiers.
The flap wasn't lost on Mankato visitors John McCain, Tim Pawlenty and Gil Gutknecht earlier Wednesday morning as they all alluded to Sen. Kerry's gaffe. About 250 attended that event, including 30 from the local Riverbend Academy Charter School, who were there as part of its lifelong learning program.
"Anybody who says our soldiers are serving in Iraq because of a lack of education are doing them a great disservice," McCain said. But a smiling Pawlenty delivered the best zinger to a delighted crowd of mostly businesspeople: "Kerry had to rush back to D.C. to have a foot-in-mouth-ectomy."
McCain, Gutknecht and Pawlenty extolled each other's virtues in front of the admiring crowd. Gutknecht referred to Pawlenty as the governor who took on the "taxoholics" in St. Paul and spoke of McCain as being a "real American hero."
McCain responded, "We need him [Gutknecht] in Congress" and lauded Pawlenty for eliminating the $4.4 billion state budget shortfall. He's trying to do the same in Washington, he said, but "it's hard to do the Lord's work in the city of Satan.... I used to say that Congress spends money like a drunken sailor, but no sailor I know, drunk or sober, has the imagination of my colleagues. Washington needs to emulate what Pawlenty has done in Minnesota."
As well as the Riverbend Charter School students, there were a handful of students from the Grace Christian School and Minnesota State University. Leah Sybilrud and Rochelle Gleixner were taking time out from their college classes to attend the event.
"I love Republicans," said Sybilrud, who volunteered at the State Fair at the GOP booth this summer and is planning to vote a straight ticket this year. Both said their key issues are abortion and gay marriage, both of which they oppose, and that their political views stem from their Christian beliefs.
Up at the Bresnan Center on the Minnesota State University campus, the crowd for the Walz event two hours later was a mixed blend of veterans, faculty and community members, and students. Pat Delaney and Joe Mace, both of White Bear Lake, were there because of their political science classes. Both were planning to vote in the upcoming election but hadn't decided yet on their choices. For them the key issues are college tuition and Iraq.
Like his Republican counterparts, Walz also addressed the Kerry gaffe, saying that the furor had caused the Senator to pull out of the event. "But we came to see you!" interrupted a woman in the audience to a mixture of laughter and applause.
Kerry's last minute cancellation may have been a boost to the Walz campaign, because for once, instead of being the second fiddle before statewide and national media, he was the main attraction. And attract them he did, partially because of the concurrent McCain-Pawlenty-Gutknecht event and partially because of Kerry's sudden prominence the news, whether he was physically at the Mankato event or not.
A partial list of the media in attendance included KTTC, KSTP, KAAL, KEYC and KARE for TV; NPR, WCCO and KTOE for radio; and the Associated Press, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Mankato Free Press, New Ulm Journal and Albert Lea Tribune for print. Video feeds are planned to go nationwide to CNN and MSNBC and perhaps the major networks.
At Minnesota State University Mankato Wednesday, 1st District Congressional candidate Tim Walz attracted nearly 400 to a rally that was supposed to have featured 2004 Democratic Presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry.
Kerry opted out of the visit because of a flap over a misstatement he made to a group of college students in California. He said, "Education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, and you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."
According to Reuters and other sources, a statement similar to this is part of his regular stump speech for Democratic candidates. What he is supposed to say and what he presumably usually says is "You end up getting us stuck in a war in Iraq. Just ask President Bush."
However, Republicans from President Bush on down have artfully used the national media amplifier to denounce Kerry for his literal words, implying that he doesn't support American soldiers.
The flap wasn't lost on Mankato visitors John McCain, Tim Pawlenty and Gil Gutknecht earlier Wednesday morning as they all alluded to Sen. Kerry's gaffe. About 250 attended that event, including 30 from the local Riverbend Academy Charter School, who were there as part of its lifelong learning program.
"Anybody who says our soldiers are serving in Iraq because of a lack of education are doing them a great disservice," McCain said. But a smiling Pawlenty delivered the best zinger to a delighted crowd of mostly businesspeople: "Kerry had to rush back to D.C. to have a foot-in-mouth-ectomy."
McCain, Gutknecht and Pawlenty extolled each other's virtues in front of the admiring crowd. Gutknecht referred to Pawlenty as the governor who took on the "taxoholics" in St. Paul and spoke of McCain as being a "real American hero."
McCain responded, "We need him [Gutknecht] in Congress" and lauded Pawlenty for eliminating the $4.4 billion state budget shortfall. He's trying to do the same in Washington, he said, but "it's hard to do the Lord's work in the city of Satan.... I used to say that Congress spends money like a drunken sailor, but no sailor I know, drunk or sober, has the imagination of my colleagues. Washington needs to emulate what Pawlenty has done in Minnesota."
As well as the Riverbend Charter School students, there were a handful of students from the Grace Christian School and Minnesota State University. Leah Sybilrud and Rochelle Gleixner were taking time out from their college classes to attend the event.
"I love Republicans," said Sybilrud, who volunteered at the State Fair at the GOP booth this summer and is planning to vote a straight ticket this year. Both said their key issues are abortion and gay marriage, both of which they oppose, and that their political views stem from their Christian beliefs.
Up at the Bresnan Center on the Minnesota State University campus, the crowd for the Walz event two hours later was a mixed blend of veterans, faculty and community members, and students. Pat Delaney and Joe Mace, both of White Bear Lake, were there because of their political science classes. Both were planning to vote in the upcoming election but hadn't decided yet on their choices. For them the key issues are college tuition and Iraq.
Like his Republican counterparts, Walz also addressed the Kerry gaffe, saying that the furor had caused the Senator to pull out of the event. "But we came to see you!" interrupted a woman in the audience to a mixture of laughter and applause.
Kerry's last minute cancellation may have been a boost to the Walz campaign, because for once, instead of being the second fiddle before statewide and national media, he was the main attraction. And attract them he did, partially because of the concurrent McCain-Pawlenty-Gutknecht event and partially because of Kerry's sudden prominence the news, whether he was physically at the Mankato event or not.
A partial list of the media in attendance included KTTC, KSTP, KAAL, KEYC and KARE for TV; NPR, WCCO and KTOE for radio; and the Associated Press, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Mankato Free Press, New Ulm Journal and Albert Lea Tribune for print. Video feeds are planned to go nationwide to CNN and MSNBC and perhaps the major networks.
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