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Sen. Landrieu's name removed from Obama fundraiser
By MELINDA DESLATTE
Associated Press
August 13, 2008

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu, who faces a tough re-election, has had her name removed from a fundraiser announcement for presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Landrieu will attend the "Lipstick, Laughter and Libations" fundraiser for Barack Obama at a Washington restaurant next week, but she won't help host it.

Landrieu's campaign said her name only was added to the online announcement of the fundraiser on Obama's Web site as a mistake. Her Republican opponent's campaign said she is trying to keep her distance from her party's presidential candidate and removed her name after they pointed it out.

"She was never scheduled to host," said Landrieu campaign spokesman Scott Schneider. "She is attending, and there was some sort of clerical error in which somebody said she was hosting, but she is not."

A spokesman for Landrieu's GOP opponent, John Kennedy, said he believes the senator removed her name because she doesn't want to be too closely connected with Obama in Louisiana, which has trended Republican in federal elections.

"Why did she allow Barack Obama to quietly list her as co-host of a Washington fundraiser at a tony restaurant in August? Because she thought Louisianans might not notice," Lenny Alcivar, Kennedy campaign spokesman, said Tuesday.

"Senators, especially those running for re-election, don't get listed as fundraising co-hosts for presidential candidates by 'accident,'" Alcivar said.

Schneider said a member of Landrieu's campaign finance staff saw the error and asked the Obama campaign to remove the senator's name from the announcement.

"I can assure you that it had nothing to do with a Kennedy e-mail about it," Schneider said.

The Obama campaign didn't immediately respond to a question about the fundraiser.

Landrieu, a second-term senator, is perhaps the most vulnerable Senate Democrat up for election this year. She needs support from Louisiana's black voters and moderate white voters, including Democrats who sometimes vote Republican in congressional races.

Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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