It probably seems unnecessary for yet another comment on John Kerry’s "botched joke," but here are my thoughts:
1. When I first read what he said, I did not think that Senator Kerry was really criticizing our soldiers in Iraq – even though that was what he said (and that was what he did in his testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1971, when he said that US soldiers in Vietnam were committing war crimes). I assumed it was just another lame Democratic attempt to make a joke about how stupid President Bush is. Bush’s stupidity is a given among Democrats and a source, I guess, of great humor among them. I assumed that was what Kerry was doing (and failing at). It is one of the problems with telling "in" jokes to people who are not in on them. They can be misunderstood, especially if they are done without a full explanation.
2. What was interesting, however, was how long it took Kerry to finally apologize. In the last week before a critical election, Kerry used up two full days being the big story – and he was not even running. I knew Kerry was in trouble when I heard Dick Durbin call for an apology. If Dick Durbin will not back a Democrat, you know he or she is in trouble.
3. I would like to include three things here. The first is Kerry’s now infamous botched joke: "You know, education--if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, uh, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."
Next is the first statement Kerry issued (on October 31) in response to attacks on what he said:
"Statement of John Kerry Responding to Republican Distortions, Pathetic Tony Snow Diversions and Distractions
Washington – Senator John Kerry issued the following statement in response to White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, assorted right wing nut-jobs, and right wing talk show hosts desperately distorting Kerry’s comments about President Bush to divert attention from their disastrous record:
‘If anyone thinks a veteran would criticize the more than 140,000 heroes serving in Iraq and not the president who got us stuck there, they're crazy. This is the classic G.O.P. playbook. I’m sick and tired of these despicable Republican attacks that always seem to come from those who never can be found to serve in war, but love to attack those who did.
I’m not going to be lectured by a stuffed suit White House mouthpiece standing behind a podium, or doughy Rush Limbaugh, who no doubt today will take a break from belittling Michael J. Fox’s Parkinson’s disease to start lying about me just as they have lied about Iraq. It disgusts me that these Republican hacks, who have never worn the uniform of our country lie and distort so blatantly and carelessly about those who have.
The people who owe our troops an apology are George W. Bush and Dick Cheney who misled America into war and have given us a Katrina foreign policy that has betrayed our ideals, killed and maimed our soldiers, and widened the terrorist threat instead of defeating it. These Republicans are afraid to debate veterans who live and breathe the concerns of our troops, not the empty slogans of an Administration that sent our brave troops to war without body armor.
Bottom line, these Republicans want to debate straw men because they’re afraid to debate real men. And this time it won’t work because we’re going to stay in their face with the truth and deny them even a sliver of light for their distortions. No Democrat will be bullied by an administration that has a cut and run policy in Afghanistan and a stand still and lose strategy in Iraq.’"
I assume this was prepared by some staffer with an over-active outrage gland, instead of Senator Kerry himself. However, it was issued in his name, so he has to live with it. It is interesting how many Democratic clichés they were able to squeeze into just five paragraphs.
This is the statement Kerry issued yesterday, when he finally got around to trying to apologize:
"Statement of Senator John Kerry
As a combat veteran, I want to make it clear to anyone in uniform and to their loved ones: my poorly stated joke at a rally was not about, and never intended to refer to any troop.
I sincerely regret that my words were misinterpreted to wrongly imply anything negative about those in uniform, and I personally apologize to any service member, family member, or American who was offended.
It is clear the Republican Party would rather talk about anything but their failed security policy. I don’t want my verbal slip to be a diversion from the real issues. I will continue to fight for a change of course to provide real security for our country, and a winning strategy for our troops."
Even in his apology Kerry does not really accept responsibility for what he said: he did not say anything wrong; it was just a poorly stated joke; he regrets any misinterpretation. Of course, you do not have to "interpret" Kerry’s words to get the insult to our soldiers. The insult is what the words said. You only have to "interpret" the words if you want to avoid insulting the troops.
It is interesting that, even when Kerry was trying to apologize, the longest paragraph was an attack on Republicans instead of his acceptance of responsibility. I think it gnaws at Kerry that he lost to somebody who is as stupid as Kerry apparently thinks Bush is.
Finally, I wonder how our troops in Iraq and their loved ones and friends back here will take this apology. Is it good enough? I have some doubts.
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