One of the front page above the fold headlines in today's Knoxville News Sentinel is "Ford's appearance at event criticized."

It's interesting when you get a chance to see an event first hand and then later read the media reports of the same event. You sometimes wonder what event they attended. (Although there is no evidence that the reporter was actually at the event.)

Read more after the jump...

According to the KNS article:

[Tennessee Republican Chairman Bob] Davis said the Duncan barbecue on Tuesday, which Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bob Corker also attended, reminded him of last week's confrontation in a Memphis parking lot, where Ford appeared near a press conference that Corker planned. Ford tried to engage Corker in a debate about the U.S. plans in Iraq while TV camera crews filmed the exchange.

Davis said the Memphis confrontation showed Ford's "lack of maturity." By appearing this week at Duncan's barbecue, Ford showed that his campaign "is struggling and he is desperate for attention," Davis said. He said he heard that a number of people at Duncan's barbecue were "hacked off that he was there."

According to the article, Davis' comments are based on a report he read in the Chattanooga paper, so it's not clear if he was there either.

I was there. In fact, we came in right behind Harold Ford Jr. and Lincoln Davis and their entourage. We followed them down to the arena floor. We spoke briefly with both of them along the way. Harold Ford Jr. was greeted warmly by a number of friends and supporters in the line. He stopped to chat and shake hands. He had his picture taken with two little toddlers who were as cute as they could be.

Once we got to the floor of the coliseum, Ford was mobbed by supporters and well-wishers. He was still there, shaking hands, getting his picture taken, and talking with voters when we left.

The only grumbling we heard was from a few Corker operatives. And by the way, after encountering some of these dudes at various Ford events and at the Duncan event, the contrast between Corker's staff and Ford's is remarkable. Corker seems to have a bunch of scowling, unhappy looking young white guys acting tough. Ford has a diverse crew of polite and attractive young men and women and minorities who show a lot of class and seem to have a lot of fun.

Anyway, the KNS article notes that Jimmy Duncan personally called Harold Ford Jr. to apologize for the way the Tennessee Republican chair criticized Ford for his attendance. Duncan and his spokespeople noted that the event was open to the public and anyone was welcome to attend.

It should also be noted that Gov. Bredesen, Jim Bryson, and Bob Corker were there, and as far as I know none of them live in Duncan's district. I am not aware of any press releases from any Democrats criticizing Bryson or Corker for being there. If anyone is desperate for attention, it's the Tennessee GOP chair. He should apologize to Ford and to the voters of Tennessee.

And the headline for the article should read "Tennessee GOP unfairly criticizes Ford. Again."