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`I Was Careless,' Says Republican Candidate Seeking Obama's Senate Seat
Mark Kirk, the Illinois Republican seeking a Senate seat once held by President Barack Obama, apologized and sought to move his campaign beyond reports that he has repeatedly made exaggerations and misstatements about his biography.
“I have made mistakes concerning certain aspects of my accomplishments and experiences,” Kirk, a five-term congressman and Navy reservist from Chicago’s northern suburbs, said during his first news conference since the reports started surfacing a month ago. “I pledge to correct those errors. I am not perfect, and I was careless.”
Kirk’s political problems started when he was caught by the Washington Post claiming that a 1999 military award had been given to him individually, when it had actually been awarded to an ad-hoc intelligence team he created and ran.
He also has been caught by various news organizations -- with the assistance of his opponent’s campaign -- incorrectly suggesting that he came under fire while flying intelligence missions over Iraq and overstating his experience as a teacher.
The race between Kirk, 50, and Democrat Alexi Giannoulias, 34, is among the most closely watched this election year. The seat is held by Senator Roland Burris, a Democrat who was appointed to finish the term Obama won in 2004. Burris isn’t seeking a full term.
To contact the reporter on this story: John McCormick in Chicago at jmccormick16@bloomberg.net.
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