When Rep. Mark Kirk was 16-years-old, he made headlines in local papers when a boat he was sailing capsized in Lake Michigan.
Kirk, who reportedly almost drowned in the 1976 incident, was rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard, and the event reportedly led him to his career in public service. Now, the Chicago Tribune is questioning remarks Kirk has made about the rescue years after it happened, and Kirk is accusing the paper of pushing an agenda.
Kirk, a North Shore Republican running for President Obama's old Senate seat, has come under fire in recent months after a series of statements he has made about his military career proved to be either false or embellished. Kirk has publicly apologized for "misremembering" aspects of his military career, but the flaps prompted the media to further examine other statements he has made publicly.
The Tribune reports:
In the most recent instance, the 50-year-old North Shore congressman told a boating magazine that he stood on his overturned sailboat and watched the sun set, when in fact he was rescued in midafternoon on June 15, 1976.Kirk also has said he swam up to a mile in 42-degree water and that he was rescued with his body temperature hovering two degrees from death. Those declarations are questionable, based on interviews with an eyewitness and medical experts.
When Kirk told the story to story to Soundings, a boating magazine, he added some "attention-grabbing details," the Tribune reports--which include "inconsistencies."
Aside from the questions about timing (the Tribune reports that Kirk "twice refers to being on the water as darkness fell,") there were also unlikely statements made about his body temperature, and how far he swam.
Pressed on the timing of the rescue, Kirk told the Tribune the magazine reporter must have made a mistake. Informed the interview was recorded, Kirk then said he did not watch the sunset but denied embellishing his story.
"I mean I was worried that the sun would go down and I would be in the dark at night, which is why I didn't want to be there," Kirk told the Tribune.
"Over 30 years ago, when I was 16 years old, I nearly drowned in Lake Michigan and was rescued by the Coast Guard," Kirk said in a statement on his website Friday morning. "It was a life-changing experience. Multiple statements by eyewitnesses confirm my rescue. It's unfortunate that some reporters had a pre-conceived premise that led to a ridiculous story about an event that is indisputable. Voters will see this story for what it is and I will continue to focus on the issues that matter and how I will serve the people of Illinois."
Whether inconsistencies in a story from 1976 will be all that damaging to the campaign is unclear, but it does highlight Kirk's flair for sassing up stories about his life.
Earlier this month, the Associated Press published a story about Kirk's actual military experience--noting that his exaggerations were unnecessary and that his military career was an impressive one.
"If Kirk had limited his statements to his actual military record, he would not have lacked for achievements to brag about," AP reporter Christopher Wills writes, adding that "his work was important but not glamorous."