Telling of Life Story Enlivens Mfume's Campaign

Prepared by an NAACP lawyer after an extensive inquiry into an employee's complaint, it detailed reports of two confrontations -- one an argument, one with a punch thrown -- among women alleged to be competing for his attention.

Mfume has said since that the allegations of favoritism were not corroborated.

Neither Julian Bond, the group's chairman, nor Myrlie Evers-Williams, the chairwoman when Mfume was hired, returned phone messages left for them in recent weeks. Hazel N. Dukes, who heads the NAACP's New York state conference, said that she didn't believe the allegations against Mfume should overshadow actions such as embracing the Internet and reaching out to young people.

The scandal "was blown out of proportion in many respects," Dukes said. "That would not be his legacy at the organization."

Regardless, the public release of the report just weeks after he announced his Senate bid had a staggering effect on the early stage of Mfume's campaign, casting a pall on his fundraising efforts.

A Campaign of Possibilities

Mfume still does not have much money -- $171,000 on hand to Cardin's $2.6 million at last count -- or much of an organization or much advertising.

To counter all that, he has considerable charisma and The Story, which promises that anything is possible.

"Every time I think I've seen everything that God can do in my life," he told parishioners at Baltimore's Heritage United Church of Christ one recent Sunday. "Lo!" -- he banged a fist on the pulpit -- "and behold, he does something."

For this race, that could be enough: Recent polls show that Mfume and Cardin are running close.

But even if he wins, what about Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele, the presumed Republican nominee? How would Mfume's background look when paired against that of another black politician, this one a former seminarian?

"It's always a character issue for him, but usually character works for him," said Matthew A. Crenson, a Johns Hopkins University political science professor. "This time, it may also work against him."

Or maybe it won't work at all: Saul Hoch, 89, was in the crowd at Mfume's Leisure World appearance. He wasn't put off by Mfume's stories about drugs and gangs and a miraculous turnaround.

But he wasn't won over, either.

"I wanted to hear more about his policy or his policy approaches," Hoch said. "It's fine that he did all these wonderful things, and I admire him for doing it. But that doesn't make him a good senator."

For now, however, Mfume is still telling The Story, selling an inspiring, streamlined version of himself.

Frizzell Gray is dead, he says. Kweisi Mfume is alive.

Really, of course, he's both of them.

"You know, he hasn't changed a bit," said Coates, the mother of one of Mfume's sons. Years ago, before his epiphany, he would work long hours at an auto shop, captive to his own drive, she remembered.

"He couldn't wait for the point that he could take a breather," she said. "And that hasn't happened yet."

A profile of Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Benjamin L. Cardin will appear next Sunday.