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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sully- who wrote (25201)	1/19/2004 9:33:18 PM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 793771

Dean leaves King ceremony Des Moines Register -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Presidential candidate Howard Dean's attempt Monday to attend a ceremony honoring the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. left many in the audience unhappy and complaining that the former Vermont governor was trying to overshadow the event. The Iowa Commission on the Status of African-Americans hosted the 15th annual event, held at the Iowa Historical Building in Des Moines. "That's not for him," said Seville Lee, 26 of Des Moines. "This was nothing but a conniving way for him to sneak in and take up a vote from the African-American community." Dean, who is in third place in the Des Moines Register's Iowa Poll, arrived at the historical building at around 10:30 a.m. Monday with a swarm of national and international media in tow. He quickly left. "Gov. Dean attempted to attend the memorial to pay his respects to the late civil rights leader," said campaign spokeswoman Sarah Leonard in a prepared statement. "Unfortunately, Gov. Dean was met by a crush of reporters who were so disruptive that, out of respect for those attending, the Governor spoke to representatives of sponsoring organizations and explained that he felt it was best to leave rather than allow the media to disrupt their event." Organizer Kimberly Baxter, administrator of the state's Commission on the Status of African-Americans, said Dean had alerted her that he planned to attend. Baxter said her only concern was making sure there was enough room for Des Moines-area residents who wanted to attend the ceremony. Dean parked about a half of block away from the historical building. His walk to the building was chaotic with dozens of television cameras and other media following him trying to snag a sound bite. An estimated 200 people with the media were on hand. Reporters jostled and shoved each other to get close to the candidate. A crew from WHO-13 in Des Moines got its cords wrapped around one of the spectators. "Look at all of that," 11-year-old Ashley Anderson of Minneapolis shrieked. "You'd think that the world was coming to an end." Anderson, a Dean fan, was in town with her mother, Kerry Anderson, to support the candidate. Unlike most Dean events, there were no accommodations for the media. It took Dean about five minutes to find an unlocked door at the Historical Building — the front door. He eventually made it into the auditorium, and briefly went to the stage and talked with organizers. When a Dean aide announced that the former Vermont governor was leaving, the audience applauded. Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, who was a scheduled speaker, said Dean was only trying to pay his respects to the late civil rights leader but decided to leave when he realized the media would overshadow the event. — Tim Higgins, Des Moines Register staff writer — Tim Higgins, Des Moines Register staff writer