May 9, 2007 9:22 am US/Pacific
Obama Blunder: 10,000 Died In Kansas Tornado
RICHMOND, Va. (CBS) ―
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During a speech in Richmond,, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama mistakenly said 10,000 people died in the Kansas tornadoes. (File)
AP
Barack Obama, caught up in the fervor of a campaign speech Tuesday, drastically overstated the Kansas tornadoes death toll, saying thousands had died.
"In case you missed it, this week, there was a tragedy in Kansas. Ten thousand people died -- an entire town destroyed," Obama said in a 27-minute speech to 500 people packed into a sweltering art studio for a fundraiser.
The death toll was 12. According to the 2000 census, the population of the town was 1,574.
Obama mentioned the disaster in saying he had been told by the office of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius that the state's National Guard had been depleted by its commitment to the Iraq War.
"Turns out that the National Guard in Kansas only had 40 percent of its equipment and they are having to slow down the recovery process in Kansas," Obama said, his shirt sleeves rolled up and his head glistening with sweat.
As he concluded his remarks a few minutes later, he appeared to realize his faux pas.
"There are going to be times when I get tired. There are going to be times when I get weary. There are going to be times when I make mistakes," he said.
Obama spokesman Bill Burton said later that the senator meant to say "at least 10," instead of 10,000.
Obama stirred the crowd as he often does by lashing President Bush over the unpopular war and noting that he opposed it from the outset.
"How could we have been involved in a war that never should have been authorized, that has already cost us half a trillion dollars," Obama said.
It was Obama's third visit to Virginia's capital in eight months and it comes as national polls show him trailing Democratic rival Hillary Clinton by 14 points.
But Obama has been the most frequent visitor to the former Confederate capital and stacked up the biggest batch of IOUs.
He visited at least twice in 2005 to campaign for Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and made a swing through the state last year to benefit Republican-turned-Democrat Jim Webb's upset victory over Republican Sen. George Allen.
In February, he keynoted the largest Virginia state party fundraiser ever in Virginia when he addressed Democrats' Jefferson Jackson Dinner. Earlier that day at the executive mansion in the shadow of the Capitol that housed the Confederate Congress, Kaine gave Obama his endorsement, among the first governors to do so.
Tuesday's visit also coincided with announcements of endorsements by Virginia legislators and party leaders for Clinton and by former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards. Five Democratic state legislators announced their support for Clinton while a dozen have endorsed Edwards, according to news released from the campaigns.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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