When we heard yesterday that Shirley MacLaine says in her new book that Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich once saw a UFO -- and "felt a connection in his heart and heard directions in his mind" -- we decided to give Kucinich the benefit of the doubt and check in with his people before passing along the report.

We called Kucinich's congressional office but never heard back. So we called Kucinich's campaign office, and we eventually got a call back from a campaign spokeswoman named Sharon Manitta. She said she'd heard about MacLaine's claims secondhand. We described the gist of them. She said that she could see how things had been "misinterpreted." Then she said she'd get the details and call us back.

We're still waiting, which is to say, our benefit-of-the-doubt-giving time is pretty much expired. So via Talking Points Memo, here's MacLaine's version of the story: "Dennis found his encounter extremely moving ... The smell of roses drew him out to my balcony where, when he looked up, he saw a gigantic triangular craft, silent, and observing him. It hovered, soundless, for 10 minutes or so, and sped away with a speed he couldn't comprehend. He said he felt a connection in his heart and heard directions in his mind."