Harold Ford Jr. showed up uninvited at a campaign event for rival Republican Bob Corker at a private charter airstrip in Memphis this morning. Corker had scheduled the media event earlier this week.Showing up at your opponent's press conference is not a move made from strength, but a move made by a desperate candidate who sees his chances of winning slipping away. The polls have had the race pretty close, but maybe Ford knows something the polls aren't showing - that he's behind and falling farther each day.
News reporters were surprised when Ford's tour bus pulled up at the event and, apparently staff at Wilson Air were surprised as well, as they tried to steer media inside the property for the Corker news conference.
"You need to get this bus off our premises please. Right now," said one Wilson Air staffer.
Corker instead, opted to come out and talk with Ford directly while the cameras were rolling. What followed was a tense confrontation between the two, caught on tape.
The two shook hands, but there was nothing civil about it. "I came to talk about ethics. And I have a press conference," Corker told Ford. "And I think that it's a true sign of desperation and that you would pull your bus up when I'm having a press conference."
"As a matter of fact, this is my press conference not yours, okay?" Corker told Ford.
Ford says Corker is desperate and he points to a recent critical campaign commercial as evidence. In the ad, an actor says, "Has Jr. ever had a job outside of politics? The ford family business is politics. But he does look good on T.V."
Ford tried to debate Corker on the spot, but Corker didn't take the bait.
"Tell me what do you think about this Iraq thing?" Ford asked. "I know you're here to talk about my family." Corker replied, "No, no. I'm here to talk about you."
Tennessee - I don't think there's a Ford in your future.
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