The American Spectator

p> UNFASHIONABLY LATE br> While Sen. John Kerry will deny that he has little in common with former President Bill Clinton, there are a group of kids in Charleston, S.C., who would probably disagree. /p>

Clinton was famous for running sometimes more than an hour late for events and meetings, keeping guests and sometimes foreign dignitaries cooling their heels. In the case of Kerry and his coterie, it’s the little people — literally — who came in for rude treatment.

Several weeks ago, when the Kerry braintrust decided to shift the candidate’s “official” announcement that he had been running for president for the past seven months from Boston to a Southern port city, they contacted several schools about getting their students to sing patriotic songs prior to Kerry’s arrival on the scene.

“The idea was to have our future entertaining the crowd before their future president arrived,” said a Kerry volunteer. “Senator Kerry would bound up on stage, thank the children, shake some hands, and then launch into the speech.”

But the kids never made it on the stage. Due to the heat, and a delay in Kerry’s arrival, the children who had been practicing for weeks for the event, were told they couldn’t perform. Instead, Kerry arrived to an empty stage, devoid of youthful song.

Part of the delay, according to another Kerry campaign source, was due to Kerry and his wife’s concern about their grooming and appearance before going on stage. As well, Kerry and his advisers continued to tinker and debate the content of his announcement remarks.

p> PRODIGAL DEMOCRATS br> Senator John Edwards