Slate's Bizbox
chatterbox: Gossip, speculation, and scuttlebutt about politics.

Whopper of the Week: Michael S. SteeleDriving Mister Kennedy.

By Timothy Noah
Posted Friday, July 12, 2002, at 4:22 PM ET

"Michael S. Steele, the leading Republican candidate for lieutenant governor of Maryland, frequently makes note of his Democratic roots. Exhibit A: A portrait of John F. Kennedy hung on the wall of his boyhood home in Petworth. Exhibit B: His stepfather was Robert F. Kennedy's chauffeur.

"Yesterday, the campaign of Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, the likely Democratic gubernatorial nominee and Kennedy's daughter, said the latter isn't true.

"Asked to explain, Steele said his stepfather drove Kennedy exactly once.

" 'One time he came home and said something like, 'Guess who I had in the car today?' Steele said. 'It's just one of those things that stuck in my head.' "

—Lori Montgomery, "Steele Stretched Kennedy Connection," Washington Post, July 6.

"On Monday, [Steele's stepfather John] Turner was in Annapolis for the kickoff of his stepson's campaign. Asked if he served as Kennedy's driver, Turner said no: 'That wasn't me. I drove an airport taxi.'

"But, Turner said, 'My brother drove limousines. Maybe it was him.' "

—Ibid.

Got a whopper? Send it to . To be considered, an entry must be an unambiguously false statement paired with an unambiguous refutation, and both must be derived from some appropriately reliable public source. Preference will be given to newspapers and other documents that Chatterbox can link to online.

Whopper Archive:
July 5, 2002: Hesham Mohamed Hadayet
June 28, 2002: WorldCom
June 21, 2002: Terry Lynn Barton
June 14, 2002: Tom Ridge
June 7, 2002: Former FBI Deputy Director Weldon Kennedy
May 31, 2002: Ari Fleischer
May 23, 2002: Condoleezza Rice
May 17, 2002: Robert Mueller
May 9, 2002: Karl Rove
May 3, 2002: Gen. Richard Myers
April 25, 2002: Donald Rumsfeld
April 18, 2002: George W. Bush
April 11, 2002: The Rev. Robert J. Banks, archdiocese of Boston
April 5, 2002: George W. Bush
March 29, 2002: Major League Baseball
March 21, 2002: Billy Graham
March 14, 2002: INS commissioner James W. Ziglar
March 8, 2002: Robert Zoellick and the U.S. steel industry
Feb. 28, 2002: Al Sharpton
Feb. 22, 2002: Olympic skating judge Marie-Reine Le Gougne
Feb. 14, 2002: Kenneth Lay
Feb. 8, 2002: Enron spokeswoman Peggy Mahoney
Jan. 31, 2002: Monsanto
Jan. 24, 2002: Linda Chavez
Jan. 17, 2002: George W. Bush
Jan. 10, 2002: Simon & Schuster
Jan. 4, 2002: The Associated Press

(Click here to access the Whopper Archive for 2001.)

Print This ArticlePRINTDiscuss this in The FrayDISCUSSEmail to a FriendE-MAIL
Share on FacebookPost to MySpace!Share with MixxDigg ThisShare with RedditShare with del.icio.usShare with FurlShare with Ma.gnolia.comShare with SphereShare with Stumble Upon
Timothy Noah is a senior writer at Slate.
E-mail Timothy Noah at .
Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum
What did you think of this article?
POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES
Washington Post
The Washington Post
OPINIONS
The Great Debate
Marcus | Forget Biden. I'd like to see McCain face off against Palin.
Toles: Another McCain SurpriseStumped: Where's Palin's Baby?