Boston's Democratic Mayor, Tom Menino, complained to the Boston Herald about "incompetency" and "small-minded individuals" in John Kerry's campaign after Kerry bailed out of a speaking engagement at a U.S. Conference of Mayors event this week-end.
Kerry snubbed the mayors' conference in deference to a cops' union that was picketing the event. Menino quickly replaced him with Republican Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, in what the Herald called a "reciprocal snub."
Menino said he was angered when he saw a rumor - spread by the Kerry campaign - that he hung up on Kerry Sunday. He said of the alleged leak: "They are trying to find scapegoats for their incompetency."
Prior to the snub, Menino had lauded Kerry as "the next president of the United States."
"We are all on the same team, I thought. Evidently, we're not," he said. "This is typical of small-minded individuals who have to create controversy."
