Update on Kerry's Claim of Being at Game 6 in '86 Series: ESPN Prints Kerry Spin Without Much Question

Kerry's campaign claims he was there:

Web bloggers point to a Boston Globe article from Oct. 26, 1986, the day after Game 6 of the World Series, in which Kerry was noted to have attended the Massachusetts Latino Democratic Committee banquet the night before at the World Trade Center in South Boston.

"Sen. Kerry attended a public event in [Massachusetts] in the early evening and hopped a shuttle flight from Boston to NYC. [Kerry] got to Shea with the game in progress," Michael Meehan, Kerry's senior campaign advisor, wrote to ESPN.com in an e-mail. "Remember the Sox were up 3-2 so all of Red Sox Nation was planning for a Series win."

Look, when a "campaign spokesman" says something like this, it's because they don't want the candidate charged with lying should contrary evidence emerge. There's always that plausible deniability-- "there was some miscommunication between Kerry and Meehan."

We have the facts. The facts cast doubt on Kerry's claims. It's simply not enough to have a paid hack make something up and call that a rebuttal. At the very least, I want Kerry on the record, himself, telling this version of the tale.

ESPN then provides a little assistance to Kerry regarding his Phantom Marathon Running:

Kerry had also claimed to have run in the Boston Marathon in the late 1970s or early '80s, though no records of his finish exist. Meehan said Kerry ran the race unofficially "as a bandit." Running the race without a number was more commonplace 25 years ago than it is today.

Says who? Marty Frickin' Meehan again?