Caprio sneaked in opponent to meet Clinton

In the midst of the campaign for Rhode Island governor, Democrat Frank Caprio snuck one of his opponents, Moderate Party candidate Ken Block, in to meet former President Bill Clinton, Block said in a Facebook posting Thursday.

Block posted a photo on his Facebook page that showed him and his wife with Clinton on Sunday, the day Clinton appeared with Caprio in Providence.

In a story confirmed by both campaigns, Block said in his posting that the meeting came about after a debate Friday night, when Block approached Caprio and told him “in a different lifetime I'd beg him to get me in to see the president.”

Caprio said he was happy to oblige and invited him to come.

Block said Caprio snuck him in the side door of the Veterans Memorial Auditorium, where Clinton was attending a rally for Caprio.

He said he and his wife waited about two hours to meet Clinton.

“When Frank introduced me as one of his opponents, Clinton looked at the two of us like we each had three heads.

Then he cracked a big smile, asked me what the Moderate Party was all about, shook our hands and took the pic,” Block said in his posting.

The meeting happened days after Caprio said President Barack Obama could “really shove it” for not endorsing him.

Obama declined to endorse anyone out of loyalty to independent Lincoln Chafee, who endorsed him in 2008.

Chafee won Tuesday's election.