Democrat Kathleen Sebelius’ smooth-running campaign for Kansas governor hit a pothole Thursday as she apologized for her comment about Missouri roads being scarier then the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The apology didn’t stop criticism from her Republican opponent, Tim Shallenburger, or the father of a Johnson County man killed on Sept. 11, 2001, when a hijacked plane crashed into the Pentagon.

“Sebelius has failed her first test as a leader,” Shallenburger said.

“I think there’s something mentally wrong with her,” said Bob Hemenway, whose son, Ronald John Hemenway, from Shawnee, was a U.S. Navy technician who died at the Pentagon. “I’d be afraid of having somebody like that for governor. It’s insensitive,” he told The Associated Press.

In a debate Wednesday in Overland Park, Sebelius responded to a question about state highway funding by telling how she had been stranded in Ohio after the Sept. 11 attacks forced the closure of airports nationwide.

To return home, she rented a car and drove through Missouri on Interstate 70.

“The roads in Missouri were much more terrifying to me than the attacks on the World Trade Center, because I really did think my life was far more at risk,” she said.

She said her point was the condition of that road showed why it was important that Kansas maintain its highways.

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On Thursday, campaigning in Wichita, she said she was sorry for the remark.

“I would like to apologize to the people of Kansas and the memories of those who lost their lives on Sept. 11 and their families and loved ones,” she said. “I take responsibility for my comments; I regret them and hope we can move forward.”

Sebelius said she had lost a friend in the attack on the World Trade Center, Neil D. Levin, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the former New York state insurance superintendent.

“The last thing I want to do is minimize the tragedy,” Sebelius said.

Mark Peterson, an assistant professor of political science at Washburn University in Topeka, said he didn’t know how the public would react to the controversy but said the flap was minor when compared with the state’s fiscal problems.

“From the standpoint of the critical issues, it’s a blip,” he said.

Peterson said Sebelius had used a poor analogy. But, Peterson said, “If we were all held accountable for every misstatement we ever made, none of us would have the courage to get out of bed.”

On Wednesday, moments after Sebelius’ comments, Shallenburger appeared ill at ease when asked by reporters to comment on his opponent’s remarks.

But on Thursday, Shallenburger issued a statement:

“The Governor is Commander-in-Chief of the National Guard. It is absolutely imperative the Governor take the threat of domestic terrorism seriously. Clearly my opponent does not understand the gravity of the situation or the level of commitment needed to fight the current war on terrorism.

“If she said it in jest, it is not funny. The events of 9-11 should not be trivialized. There was massive loss of life on Sept. 11 and we currently face the potential for more loss of life if the war on terrorism moves to Iraq.”