Obama says Jones mailer is not an endorsement

[Ron Burgundy]

AP - Barack Obama's presidential campaign distanced itself Thursday from a mailer by Georgia Democratic Senate hopeful Vernon Jones that shows them together under Obama's signature slogan: "Yes we can."

Jones defended the mailer, saying it shows he supports the Illinois senator, not the other way around.

"It shows that I am the best person to work with Barack Obama to turn this country around," Jones told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Thursday.

Two of his four Democratic opponents pounced, saying the mailer suggests Jones — who twice voted for Republican George W. Bush — has Obama's backing.

"This last-ditch attempt to drape himself in the Barack Obama aura is not going to work," said challenger Dale Cardwell.

"A gross abuse and misuse of Barack Obama's wonderful success in Georgia," added candidate Rand Knight.

The five are facing off in a July 15 primary for the right to take on Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss in November.

Obama's campaign denied involvement with the flier Jones said was mailed statewide.

"The Obama campaign was not involved with the use of Sen. Obama's picture in this mailer," spokeswoman Amy Brundage said. "And despite what this mailer inaccurately suggests, Sen. Obama will not endorse a candidate in the U.S. Senate primary in Georgia."

The flier blends photos of Obama and Jones to make it appear they were at the same event, when they were not. It lists a variety of issues, from job creation to home foreclosure, on which the two share an agenda. "Like Barack Obama Vernon Jones Wants to ..." the list begins.

Jones said his opponents are attacking him because they are worried about his strength in the July 15 primary. He said they have been proclaiming their support for Obama for weeks.

Obama won Georgia handily in the state's Feb. 5 presidential contest, drawing 66 percent of the vote against Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, including strong support from the state's large black population. Jones, the only black Senate candidate in Georgia, also is courting black voters.

source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080704/ap_on_el_pr/obama_georgia_senate [link]