More "manly" behavior from the new Macho Dems...
New Congressman Steve Kagen has reportedly been bragging about what a manly man he was at the White House congressional reception last November:
[In the reception line] Kagen, still hurting from the hard campaign, reportedly took note that Bush had come to Green Bay to campaign against him and congratulated the president for helping him win in an indirect reference to Bush's low approval rating. Kagen then reportedly greeted the president's wife, Laura Bush, by intentionally using the first name of the president's mother, Barbara, instead.
"I did that because I learned on the campaign trail that the meanest thing you can say to another gentleman is, 'He's a fine fellow.' And then you refer to his spouse by a different name," Kagen is reported to have told a local peace activist group who visited his Appleton campaign office Dec. 19.
In addition, Kagen reportedly told the activists he held the door to a White House men's room closed when he was alone with Rove.
"You're in the White House and think you're safe, huh?" Kagen was said to have told Rove. "You recognize me? My name's Dr. Multimillionaire and I kicked your ass."
The story was first published in a local rag and Rep. Kagen didn't deny it. Now that it's getting national play, he's saying "no comment," though the White House denies that's how the encounters actually went.
Whether it's Kagen making things up or just bragging about what he actually did, he's obviously obnoxious, disrespectful and immature, if not an outright bully. Just another one of those new "Macho Men," huh?
Update: Found a link to the original story (see sidebar), which is far more detailed than what I've quoted above, including an encounter with Cheney. It's from a very "modest" publication, complete with typos, malfunctioning links and confusing layout. It seems to lean heavily (but not universally) left. Adding credence to the thought that Kagen is at least "embellishing" is this mention of his encounters with Rove and Cheney in the Milwaukee Journalist Sentinel, which makes no mention of the ruder aspects of what Kagen has claimed he did.
