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Yarrow's Kerry Puff Daddy
JOHN Kerry's presidential campaign strategists are probably hoping his friendship with frisky folk legend Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary will go "Puff!" like a certain Magic Dragon.
Yarrow, a close Kerry pal who has been warming up crowds for the Massachusetts senator in Iowa, pleaded guilty to taking "immoral and improper liberties" with a 14-year-old girl back in 1970.
As reported at the time, the girl and her older sister went to Yarrow's hotel room seeking an autograph. Yarrow answered the door naked and made sexual advances that stopped short of intercourse. The 14-year-old resisted his advances but did not call for help. Yarrow served three months of a one- to three-year prison sentence and was pardoned by Jimmy Carter in 1981.
Yarrow is making headlines these days while stumping for Kerry on the campaign trail. The Boston Globe reported that he "planted a major smooch on the cheek of a comely television reporter" while strumming his guitar on Kerry's campaign bus, "The Real Deal Express." Kerry chided his friend, the Globe reported, but a few minutes later Yarrow was "inching toward the newswoman. Kerry's hands then shot up in between her face and Yarrow's, leaving no doubt that the senator's perfect manners include gallantry. 'Peter, enough!' Kerry bellowed."
And at a recent party for supporters in Ames, Iowa, Yarrow may have caused Kerry some embarrassment while performing, "Puff the Magic Dragon." Apparently the silver-haired senator was enjoying the song too much. As reported by the Washington Post's Ceci Connolly, "Kerry lifted his fingers to his mouth for a quick toke on an imaginary joint. You can almost see his thick mane of silver hair returning to the shaggy brown 'do of those days."
When we called a Kerry campaign spokeswoman yesterday to talk about Yarrow, a flustered flack tried to dissuade us from reporting on his past. "What's the point of this story?" sputtered Kerry rep David DiMartino. "Isn't the New York Post supposed to break news, not rehash it?"
When we pointed out that many younger readers might not have heard much about the colorful Yarrow, who is godfather to Kerry's daughter Alex, DiMartino gave us the campaign's official line: "John Kerry has a lifelong friendship with Peter Yarrow."