The American Spectator

Washington Prowler

p> THE PLEASURE OF HIS COMPANY br> Sen. John Kerry probably didn't gain any votes while traveling through parts of Florida on Friday. The candidate walked through ravaged trailer parks and decimated neighborhoods, and attempted to comfort some of the people who were returning to rebuild their lives. Kerry, in speaking with reporters, called what he was seeing "inspiring." /p>

"Not sure what's so inspiring about me not having help," said a resident of a trailer park Kerry visited. "He wasn't offering anything. He just wanted to come here because the president came here."

Kerry did travel with Sen. Bill Nelson, some of whose staff advanced the trip and attempted to pick areas that were most heavily hit by Hurricane Charley. But what neither Kerry nor Nelson would tell reporters was that Federal Emergency Management Agency officials had already passed through many of the areas they toured and were helping many in the community.

Earlier on Friday, Kerry had attended a meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina, with unemployed workers. The North Carolina Kerry campaign had organized a rally for the candidate at his hotel on Thursday night. The campaign was able to pull about 100 volunteers into the lobby to greet the candidate, but when the campaign attempted to get more folks to attend, they got few volunteers.

"There was a big party down the street from the hotel, about 500 or 600 people were there listening to a live band," a Kerry volunteer said. "But there weren't many interested in coming to meet Senator Kerry. It was a disappointing turnout."

p> A SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP br> On Friday, Kerry campaign spokesman Debra Deshong was telling any reporter who would listen that there was a big difference between the negative advertisements being run by

topics:
Television, NATO