Dick Cheney is so unpopular that candidates must be wondering to themselves, which would do more long-term damage? Getting shot in the face by Dick Cheney, or appearing in a photograph with him?
Apparently New Jersey Senate candidate Thomas Kean, Jr., would have preferred a load of buckshot to the kisser because:
Vice President Dick Cheney traveled to New Jersey on Monday and praised Mr. Kean as someone with "the experience, the values and the vision to be a superb United States senator."
But there was one problem: Mr. Kean was a no-show.
Actually, Mr. Kean did show up at the event...But he did not make it until 6:15, roughly 15 minutes after Mr. Cheney's motorcade had left.
Mr. Kean insisted that he wasn't avoiding the Vice President, and that he got caught in traffic. Too bad the New Jersey Turnpike website and Shadow Traffic didn't report any traffic tie-ups. And btw, for some odd reason, Mr. Kean chose a route that was much more likely to have delays...
Oh, and btw, besides lying about the traffic, Mr. Kean also pointed out that he was running late because he was doing the people's business:
For his part, Mr. Kean said he had been in Trenton all day, voting on important bills, because "I would not miss votes in order to make a political event." As soon as the Senate wrapped up, around 4 p.m., he traveled north "as quickly as I could." But instead of taking the New Jersey Turnpike, like any regular commuter between Trenton and Newark, he and his driver chose Route 1, which is usually crawling with bumper-to-bumper traffic at that hour.
Mr. Kean said he did so because there were delays on the Turnpike in the morning. But at 6 p.m., there were no reported delays between Exit 7A, not far from Trenton, and the George Washington Bridge, according to the Turnpike's Web site.
And Anton Peters, an executive producer at Shadow Traffic, said that Route 1 was relatively trouble-free on Monday afternoon, with the only significant problem a northbound accident near Linden that was cleared up by 2 p.m. "If he was going north, it wouldn't have affected him," Mr. Peters said.
The bottom line was, Kean didn't want to be photographed with the VP.
And a bit about Cheney's reaction:
"I'm sorry he's not here right now," Mr. Cheney said, referring to the younger Mr. Kean. "But I do some of my best work without a candidate."
Like his boss?
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