Dems, Obama camp fear Kilpatrick will just distract
As thousands of Democrats plan to gather in Denver in 10 days to witness the historic nomination of the first African-American presidential candidate, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick hopes he can attend.
Kilpatrick, a super-delegate facing 10 felony charges, won approval from one judge Thursday to make the trip. Another judge said later that travel restrictions tied to Kilpatrick's bail ban him from going to watch Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois receive the Democratic Party nomination.
The Obama campaign, while stopping short of saying Kilpatrick shouldn't go, said he would be a distraction.
That appeared to give the embattled mayor pause late Thursday, as he sorted through conflicting court orders.
Kilpatrick issued a statement calling Obama's nomination "a historic event, however I'm focused on running the city, and I don't want anything to distract from that extraordinary moment. The focus should remain on uniting the party and leading our great nation in a different direction."
Marcus Reese, spokesman for the mayor's legal team, said, "It's not even a settled issue legally whether or not he will be able to go."
Either way, Democrats wary of the criminal charges and multiple efforts to remove Kilpatrick from office hope Denver is the last place on Earth the mayor will be from Aug. 24 to 28.
"They want Kwame to just go on his vacation and stay there," said Ed Sarpolus, a political analyst. "The press is going to be following him around the whole time. He'll create more disruption than any benefit there might be from having him there."
The Obama campaign has been exceedingly careful in its comments about Kilpatrick and his legal travails. Last week, when the mayor was charged with two felonies in connection with an altercation with a Wayne County sheriff's deputy and a process server, Obama's campaign said the legal process would resolve the issue appropriately.
When it became clear Thursday that Kilpatrick could end up at the convention, Brent Colburn, the Obama campaign's spokesman in Michigan, said the convention should not be distracted from its focus on issues facing all Americans.
"Many Michigan families are struggling as a result of the failed policies and old politics that John McCain wants to continue," Colburn said in a written statement. "The focus of our convention to people back here in Michigan should be on Barack Obama and how the party intends to get America back on track, not a distraction involving the troubles of one individual."
Democrats clearly fear the Kilpatrick mess could taint the party's efforts.
U.S. Rep. John Dingell of Dearborn, dean of the Michigan congressional delegation and another super-delegate to the convention, called Wednesday for the mayor to resign for the good of the city.
Republicans have been trying to link Obama and Kilpatrick this week with online videos and idle chatter about the two politicians.
The Tennessee Republican Party and Michigan bloggers have posted YouTube videos of a speech Obama gave to the Detroit Economic Club in May 2007 in which he praised Kilpatrick as a "great mayor."
"We know he's going to be doing astounding things for many years to come. I'm grateful to call him a friend and colleague," Obama said at the time, which was eight months before the scandal swirling around Kilpatrick came to light.
"I think it's very important to watch what Obama does now," state Rep. Craig DeRoche, R-Novi, said Wednesday during a fund-raiser for Republican presidential candidate John McCain in West Bloomfield. "He's going to draw attention to his strong support of Kilpatrick."
But the relationship between Obama and Kilpatrick was tenuous even before the mayor became mired in scandal.
There was a prickly phone exchange between the two before the Economic Club speech, and Kilpatrick didn't endorse a candidate for president until it became clear Obama had won the nomination.
The two have kept their distance since the Free Press in January published evidence that Kilpatrick lied in a whistle-blower case last year brought by fired police officers.
When Obama came to Detroit for a campaign rally in June, Kilpatrick was nowhere in sight.
Kilpatrick acknowledged in May that he knew he would play an invisible role in Obama's campaign. "He does not need to be walking hand-in-hand singing 'Kumbaya' with Kwame Kilpatrick," he said during the annual Mackinac Policy Conference.
But that didn't stop Kilpatrick's attorneys from getting approval from Circuit Judge Leonard Townsend to lift bond restrictions so Kilpatrick could go to Denver.
Even national Democrats fretted about it.
Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, answering questions after a speech at an automotive conference in Traverse City, said, "I don't know if I'd find it productive to attend, if facing similar circumstances."
Contact KATHLEEN GRAY at 313-223-4407 or kgray99@freepress.com.
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