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Wednesday, August 11, 2004

ELECTION 2004
eBay yanks Keyes'
sweaty napkin
Auctioner had received 100 bids for candidate's perspiration

Posted: August 11, 2004
10:40 a.m. Eastern

© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com

eBay.com has removed an item that had garnered 100 bids on the auction site: a napkin used to wipe sweat from the brow of Republican U.S. Senate candidate Alan Keyes.

As WorldNetDaily first reported, immediately following Keyes' announcement Sunday that he would replace Jack Ryan as the GOP candidate in Illinois to face Democrat Barack Obama in a long-shot bid for the Senate, a zealous supporter daubed sweat from the candidate's brow and placed the perspiration-soaked napkin for sale on eBay.

That support, Jerry McGlothlin, told WND after the item was pulled: "We were up to about $700 with about 100 bids and 15,000 hits on the eBay page … all in two days!"

The Keyes napkin

McGlothlin said eBay removed the "paper trail" related to the item and that rules forbid him from contacting bidders directly. He had planned to give the proceeds of the sale to the Keyes campaign.

The original page featuring the sweaty napkin now says the item is "invalid, still pending, or no longer in our database."

Not easily defeated, McGlothlin has reposted the item at eBay without mentioning Keyes' sweat. The new posting is classified as a "buy it now" item, rather than an auction item, with a price of $999.99.

"We’ll see if eBay bumps this one," commented McGlothlin.

Since WND broke the story Monday, it has been covered by the Washington Post, Chicago Sun-Times and other media outlets.

On the original item's page, Keyes opponents posted comments about the napkin, to which McGlothlin responded. Here are some of those posts:

Q: Will you be selling a tear-soaked napkin in November? I think I'll wait for that one.
A: Thanks for the suggestion, but if Mr. Obama cries in defeat, I'd prefer not to rub his face in it. In spite of my differences in opinion regarding his stands, he still is a fellow American who has the constitutional right to express them.

Q: Do you have any of Barack Obama's sweat? He stands for the America I love. Keyes is a carpetbagging looney toon. Either way this auction inspires me to donate more to Obama!

A: Here is another example of the peculiar obsession of Obama supporters to brand Alan Keyes as a "nut" or looney, same difference. What exactly do you find looney about Keyes? As for why I don't "stock" any of Mr. Obama's sweat, I'm not not a full-service fluid repository. Furthermore, I don't support Mr. Obama or the issues he represents.

Q: Good lord. What's next, some used toilet paper from this idiot wingnut a$$hole?

A: What's particularly perplexing to me is why do Alan's detractors seem compelled to use single syllable words such as "nut" or "jerk" to sum up another dignified and complex human being such as Alan Keyes. Frankly, what specific issue or issues do you disagree with him on? Is he "nutty" for wanting to lower taxes? Is he "crazy" for opposing child prostitution and pornography? Should he be committed for his strong commitment to his faith? Inquiring minds would like to know.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=39921