Bush 'Wins' Kan-celled Primary
File this one under "DOH!"
In a poorly edited statement issued Tuesday night, George W. Bush claimed victory in Tuesday's Kansas primary with thanks to all the voters who came out to support him. One problem: the primary had been cancelled in February.
"Thank you Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Kansas," the Texas governor said in a statement issued by his campaign. The release said Tuesday's victories were "adding to a groundswell of grass-roots support for his campaign to the White House."
Wednesday in Austin, Texas, where Bush was spending the day, there was furious backpedaling.
"The Kansas primary had been scheduled, of course, for April 4. A staffer Â… read the chart on the wall and it was an old chart. The staffer, his head is hanging slightly lower than mine. He's a good man and a good staffer," Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer told CBSNews.com Wednesday afternoon.
Republican Bush and Democrat Al Gore did coast to victories in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. But Kansas officials, citing a tight budget and probably lack of relevance so late in the primary season, had done away with their primary.
"Actually, there's a technical term for that news release. It is called a goof," Fleischer said.
It appears, however, that the staffer responsible for the goof will live to spin another day.
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