CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- There was no "dirty trick" behind the photographs of Sen. John Kerry wearing the blue anti-contamination suit while touring the shuttle Discovery Monday, according to Local 6 News partner Florida Today.

NASA said government photographers routinely snap pictures of visiting dignitaries, according to the report.

Kerry's group more than qualified as dignitaries: four U.S. senators, two of whom were former astronauts, John Glenn and Bill Nelson, Florida Today reported. NASA often posts pictures on its Internet sites for the public and reporters.

Also, NASA spokesman Bill Johnson reportedly said the Kerry campaign asked that the pictures be taken of the senator's unusually up-close tour of the Discovery and that processing be expedited so reporters could have them.

The photos have prompted jokes among political pundits covering the Democratic National Convention in Boston because, to people unfamiliar with shuttle operations, the head-to-toe light-blue suits look goofy, Florida Today reported.

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