Nov 28th. Chicago, Illinois - Today the Michael Cooper for President campaign issued an apology amid scathing criticism of his recent campaign visit to Portland, Oregon.

During the Portland trip (Nov 15th), presidential candidate Michael Cooper visited Oregon's Korean War Memorial. In an attempt to show support from America as well as appreciation from the Korean people, Cooper placed two flags at the gravesite of a decorated Korean War Veteran - an American flag, and (what he thought was) a South Korean flag. As it turns out, he had actually placed a (Communist) North Korean flag at the gravesite of Major Thomas Westlake. The incident sparked a flood of angry emails to the campaign's website, http://www.cooperforpresident.com.

 

Major Westlake's daughter was alerted to the picture and sent in this email (excerpt): "I was very offended and saddened that you would make such an unforgivable mistake. You should be ashamed of yourself." She then apparently sent copies of the article (as well as the campaign's email addresses and contact numbers) to local Portland radio talk shows (as well as the local VFW in Wilsonville).

The subsequent flood of angry emails and phone calls prompted the the temporary suspension of the Cooper for President 800 number and the release of the following statement by his Campaign Manager, Sarah Cooper-Payton:

"We are deeply sorry for the misunderstanding, and would like to apologize to anyone we may have inadvertently offended. We are looking into the cause of the mistake. Although we see this as a temporary misunderstanding, Michael Cooper is still very much dedicated to the cause of peace, and will not decrease his criticism of the war in Iraq, as well as the overall War on Terror. In the meantime, we have decided NOT to take down the photo in the interest of Free Speech"

Michael Cooper (a mildly retarded man running for president on the democrat ticket) is currently on the ballot in 9 states, and is seeking support to put him on all ballots nationwide by Jan 13th. Cooper lives in Sheboygan, Illinois with his mother. A copy of his most current campaign schedule, as well as his courageous life story can be found on his website: http://www.cooperforpresident.com.

Please direct all questions or comments to Cooper's Campaign Manager (Sarah Cooper-Payton): .