The American Spectator

p> CHILI TERESA br> Very briefly the Kerry campaign considered sending potential first lady Terry Kerry into New York on Monday to visit the New York Stock Exchange or the Citicorp building, both of which were under increased security due to potential terrorism threats. /p>

“We nixed it when we realized she might actually have to interact with real people in an unstaged event,” says a Kerry advance staffer. “It isn’t something we’re looking to do given the beating we’ve taken over the convention speech.”

The Kerry camp is looking to pull Mrs. Kerry back after a slew of miscues, including what even the campaign now believes was a potentially disastrous convention speech for the woman who wants to be first lady. That was followed by Mrs. Kerry’s claim that a cookie recipe submitted under her name to a “first lady bake off” contest organized by a national magazine was sent in by a possible political enemy.

Another under-reported event took place last weekend at the Wendy’s in Ohio, where the Kerrys and Edwards “double dated” to celebrate the Edwards’ wedding anniversary. Mrs. Kerry was unable to identify a single thing on the menu she was willing to eat, and ended up pointing at a picture of Wendy’s chili. After much deliberation, that was what she chose to order.

For months there has been internal debate how best to use Terry Kerry in the campaign, and it now appears that the best way may be no way. “She’s more willing to appear as the supportive wife than, say, Hillary was on the campaign trail,” says the advance staffer. “But it’s a limited upside for us. Unless it’s in a real controlled setting, I don’t think we want her out there too often.”

In the end, First Lady Laura Bush showed up in Manhattan with her daughters and visited the Citicorp building without incident.

p> INFLATED NUMBERS br> Controlled environments appear to be the norm for the Kerry camp nowadays. The Kerry campaign likes to tout attendance numbers at its rallies around the country. But those events are increasingly becoming stage-managed rallies, with in-sourced supporters. At recent events in Michigan and Ohio, the Kerry campaign has bused supporters as many as 150 miles to boost attendance. As in so many areas, the campaign is banking on organized labor to bump up the numbers. According to one attendee at a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Monday, she was given part of the day off with pay from her union job to attend. br> /p>