BLAINE -- U.S. Sen. John McCain told Minnesota Republicans Wednesday that Gov. Tim Pawlenty is among the next generation of leaders, but he also took time to criticize a potential presidential rival for a joke that backfired.
McCain, an Arizona senator and likely GOP presidential candidate, said he is ready to hand the torch of leadership over to Pawlenty. The two visited Rochester, Blaine, Duluth and Moorhead.
Pawlenty's chief opponent for re-election, Democratic Attorney General Mike Hatch, said he refuses to bring in national figures like McCain because he doesn't want to owe them.
Much of Wednesday's campaigning in Minnesota was tinted with fallout from comments U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., made Tuesday.
"You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well," the 2004 Democratic presidential candidate said Tuesday. "And if you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."
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Although Kerry, a possible presidential contender in 2008, apologized on Wednesday, Republicans repeatedly criticized what he called an attempt to make a joke.
Minnesota GOP Chairman Ron Carey said the Kerry situation could boost Republican candidates across the country, but to a lesser extent than a congressional sex scandal helped Democrats last month.
Carey said even a 1 percent shift in votes would be welcome.
Republicans nationwide are struggling because of President Bush's low popularity and former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley's alleged intimate communications with young Capitol Hill staffers.
McCain's appearance was scheduled long before the Kerry controversy broke. But it worked out well for Pawlenty since McCain was a Vietnam prisoner of war, opening up the opportunity to discuss Kerry and attack Democrats.
McCain said he has heard from a lot of military personnel upset over the Kerry remark and suggested his fellow senator apologize.
Kerry canceled plans to visit Mankato to campaign for Tim Walz, the Democratic candidate in a tight race with 12-year veteran Republican U.S. Rep. Gil Gutknecht.
