North Shore Republican Rep. Mark Kirk has been fighting off attempts by Democratic rival Dan Seals to paint him as a key supporter of President George Bush, and on Tuesday the four-term congressman worked to distance himself from his party’s vice presidential nominee.
In an interview of two of the 10th Congressional District candidates conducted by the Tribune editorial board, Kirk would not say whether he believed Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin had the qualifications to become president.
“Quite frankly, I don’t know,” said Kirk, 49, of Highland Park, when asked if Palin could step into the job. In answer to repeated inquiries about Palin’s experience, Kirk said, “I would have picked someone different.”
Kirk was an early supporter of Arizona Sen. John McCain’s candidacy for the GOP presidential nomination. And late last month, as Republicans began gathering for their national nominating convention, Kirk said he was “encouraged” by McCain’s choice of Palin and credited conservative political parties around the world as the ones that break through “key barriers,” such as gender.
But on Tuesday, Kirk sought to minimize Palin’s role in the minds of voters.
“In the end, the main choice is between Sen. [Barack] Obama and Sen. McCain, and I know Sen. McCain is absolutely the right guy,” he said.
Seals, in a rematch against Kirk after losing to him two years ago, pounced.
“I don’t think she’s ready to be president, and I think it says a lot about John McCain’s judgment that he chose her to be his running mate,” said Seals, 37, of Wilmette.
Seals also took shots at Kirk for what he called the congressman’s support of policies pushed by the Bush administration — a frequent theme from his 2006 campaign. Kirk denied he felt a need to run away from Bush this time around, but did go on to say he disagreed with the president on several issues, noting he supports abortion rights and stem cell research.
“Our district is a very well-educated set of communities that values being a social moderate and a fiscal conservative, and that’s the philosophy I brought in,” Kirk said.
The two also differed on the financial bailout package Congress voted down Monday. Seals, a self-employed business consultant, said he would have voted against the proposal because it failed to secure middle-class assets.
“I think we need a bailout, but I think this bill should have been stronger,” Seals said.
Kirk, who broke with the majority of House Republicans by supporting the measure, said he didn’t disagree the measure had some failings, but he believed tweaks could have been adopted once the immediate crisis had passed.
The rejection of the $700 billion bailout was followed immediately by a historic drop in the stock market.
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skuczka@tribune.com
