Cafaro campaign parts with top aide after video flap (OH-14th race)

[Kolesar]

Videos, videos, videos!

Akron B-J, registration required:
http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/state/9980401.htm

Cafaro campaign parts with top aide after video flap

CLEVELAND - Congressional candidate Capri Cafaro terminated her communications director after he gave a Cleveland television station a secretly filmed video of her opponent leaving his girlfriend's house.

The station broadcast the video of Republican Rep. Steve LaTourette leaving the Virginia home of Washington lobbyist Jennifer Laptook.

Cafaro, a Democrat, said she did not know or condone Mike Cook's actions. She said Cook, who has worked on several campaigns in recent years, was terminated as a full-time employee following a mutual decision that he leave the campaign.

"He knows I was not pleased with his independent action," Cafaro said Wednesday. "It's not an action I would condone. We had to part ways."
.........snip....now the best part.........
It was unclear whether those photographs were connected to Cook's video. LaTourette has accused Cafaro of hiring the private investigator, but Cafaro's campaign has denied that.

[Rick Myers]

1. Here's the REAL story...

Capri's dad, mall developer and convicted felon (in the Traficant case) JJ Cafaro, paid an out-of-work talk show host to go shoot the tape. Then, this idiot "made the tape available" to the campaign.

[Kolesar]

2. I see--my take on the campaign

Personally, I think Cafaro has some chance of winning this seat, despite the fact that she is not as experienced as Latourette. I base that mainly on her upset >50% polling in the Dem primary. She campaigned hard and put many hours into her campaign. For the general election, she is again "following the text book of campaigning" and reaching voters.

Other factors for her are the publicity she is getting, even negative publicity. Her winning will ultimately depend upon a real anti-incumbent mood (which I am not seeing up here in whitey-suburbia), and an overwhelming turnout as a result of hers and the Kerry campaign. Her grassroots canvassing volunteers have knocked on a lot of doors and signed up a lot of new blood.