"Post" Tabs Wrong Horse

JULY 6--In an embarrassingly errant front-page "exclusive," The New York Post today reported that John Kerry had selected Richard Gephardt as his Democratic running mate. The paper's story hit newsstands hours before Kerry tabbed fellow U.S. Senator John Edwards for the veep slot. The Post story, which ran without a byline, reported that while Edwards could have made the Democratic duo more competitive in the south, the choice of Gephardt "could be a sign that Kerry is 'writing off' that region." In a move to cloak the error, Post brass removed the front page image and the accompanying story from the paper's web site. While it is unclear how the Post made such a colossal error (almost as big as their Yankees goof), editor Col Allan issued a statement saying that, "We unreservedly apologize to our readers for the mistake." (2 pages)