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Wednesday, August 2, 2006
For those who think politics and sex don’t mix
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We received a campaign e-mail Wednesday from Bill Stephens, who’s locked in a statewide run-off against Karen Handel in the Republican race for secretary of state.
It ended with a series of quotes, under the headline “What folks are saying about Bill.�
One of the paragraphs read thusly: “[Governor Perdue and I] have absolutely been supportive of Senator Stephens.� It was attributed to Nick Ayers, the governor’s youthful campaign manager.
At least among Republicans, Perdue is extremely popular. With President Bush’s coattails shrinking into his collar, it’s only natural for candidates to cling to the current Republican governor, whose approval numbers remain high.
One of Handel’s mailers, for instance, featured photographs of the candidate with virtually every member of the governor’s staff.
That said, the quote from Stephens rankled Perdue’s re-election campaign.
Partially because it seemed to violate the thin, neutral line the governor has tried to walk in the race. Partially because, Perdue’s people attest, the quote isn’t genuine.
But they objected mostly because the apparent endorsement could, shall we say, interfere with the entirely spiritual congress between Ayers and his new bride, Jamie.
Jamie Ayers, a cousin of the governor, is employed by the Handel campaign as a fund-raiser.
Said Derrick Dickey, mouthpiece for the Perdue campaign: “We have a great deal of respect for both candidates, but if Nick had said that, he’d be sleeping on the couch for weeks.�
LATE ADDITION: As it turns out, Ayers said exactly what he was quoted as saying. Katie Grove, campaign manager for Stephens, called Thursday morning and pointed to a July 17, 2004 newspaper article. The topic was Stephens’ state Senate race against Lauren “Bubba” McDonald.
Not exactly what people “are saying” about Stephens. More like, what they said in the last cycle.
So maybe he doesn’t deserve the couch. Just the spare room.
Herman Cain goes under the knife
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
As we write this, Herman Cain, the former Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, is undergoing cancer-related surgery at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
Cain entered the operating room at 8:30 a.m. EDT, and is expected to remain there until 6:30 p.m., according to his spokeswoman, Ericka Pertierra. Cain was diagnosed with colon cancer this spring, and has been undergoing chemotherapy in preparation for the surgery.
Pertierra said surgeons are removing tumors on the colon and the liver, and expect Cain to make a full recovery.
