Kerry's College Comments

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

I say Senate and HoR.  People will forget by 08.  if nobody knows what I'm talking about, I'll get a story up later.

[Alcon]

Uh, you think that the Dems will lose the House just because Kerry said this?  And you're not actually seriously entertaining the thought that this would have anything to do with 2008?

And the implication here is...that they would have won if not for these comments?

I think you're overreacting.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

You honestly think that ONE comment - will reverse the general distaste for the Republicans - wishful thinking.

[nlm]

The desperation emitting from the GOP is almost blinding.

So the President, who is known for making a great deal of speaking mistakes, has made an overtly political move out of somebody elses? Big deal.

All this tells me is that the GOP is extremely desperate and thinks the American people are stupid as hell. Heck, they might as well just come out and say - "yeah, you folks are dumb enough to swallow this BS."

It has given the GOP a little cover from the media while we left a missing soldier to die in Iraq because the US caved to demands from the Shiite's that we do so. Other than that, John Kerry being removed from the picture (which may help the Dems more than the Reps) is about all I can see.

[A18]

Eh, it might energize the Republican base to get out and vote in slightly larger numbers, but the outcome of this election is pretty close to sealed. The Republicans will lose the House, and are well on their way to losing the Senate.

[MODU]

I cannot look into my magic ball and answer that.  Kerry's comments will have minor impacts on the current elections, but that's about it.  It will keep him out of the 2008 Presidential election though.

[Wakie]

This whole "Kerry comment" thing is ridiculous.  Has anyone really listened to what he said?  "If you don't do your homework you end up stuck in Iraq."  The Bush admin didn't do their homework and now they are stuck in Iraq!

Did anyone really ever think John Kerry was a great comedian?  Come on.  If Bush had said this those attacking him would say he was being "folksy".

And, lets pretend Kerry really was saying if you don't do well in school one of the few options open to you is the military ... isn't that true!?!

And even if you are offended by that simple truth do you really believe that Kerry speaks for all Democrats?  Can we pick out a Republican Senator who said something goofy and say he is speaking for all Republicans?

[MODU]

Our stupid troops heard you loud and clear!

[Gabu]

I can just hear the voters now:

"JOHN KERRY IS SUCH A CALLOUS JERK!!!!!!!!1  I HATE HIM SO MUCH THAT I AM GOING TO RE-ELECT MY REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE!!!!11  WE NEED TO PUNISH THOSE EVIL DEMOCRATS FOR HAPPENING TO HAVE JOHN KERRY IN THEIR PARTY"

[Ban my account ffs!]

I'm glad Kerry said what he said.  I don't think he needs to apologize.

Of course there are lots of intelligent people in the army, but it is a well known fact that they target people from low-income, poorly educated areas.  That has nothing to do with intelligence.

The Republicans are so desparate...  They are disgusting.  Keep it coming, guys... you've actually sealed a loss for our Republican governor simply because he has an R next to his name... keep it comin'.

The Republican party these days preaches a message of sexism, racism, homophobia, xenophobia, and general distrust.  And you think you'll have a great turn around because JOhn Kerry had the balls to tell the truth and then go on to say that Republicans were dispicible for being chicken hawks and using patriots and soldiers as the butt of their sick, twisted ploys for re-election.

Go John Kerry.. you make me prouder each day that I voted for you. 

[Boris]

It will keep him out of the 2008 Presidential election though.

Thank God. I'm really not in the mood to lose three presidential elections in a row.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

He did appologize.  And no, I had thought that the Dem's would be close in the HoR--within a few seats of winning it.  But I think this COULD definitely get a tossup state to go rep, but he did appologize:


Kerry cancels appearances over 'botched joke'
Updated 11/1/2006 5:00 PM ET E-mail | Save | Print | Subscribe to stories like this   
 
 
By Ann Johansson, AP
The White House called remarks by U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass, shown here at Pasadena (Calif.) City College on Monday, "an absolute insult" to Iraq veterans. Kerry dismissed the attack as "the classic GOP playbook."
 

From staff and wire reports
Two days into an uproar over remarks he made that critics said insulted U.S. troops, Sen. John Kerry this afternoon issued a personal apology "to any service member, family member, or American who was offended."
The furor over a comment he made Monday had turned into a full-scale war of words, as several Democratic candidates joined the White House to call on the senator to apologize and other Democrats painted the dispute as a Republican effort to avoid talking about Iraq.

ON DEADLINE: Bush and Limbaugh agree on Kerry's meaning | More on the war of words | Video

Earlier in the day, as the debate had swirled, Kerry canceled several appearances for Democratic candidates in next week's midterm elections, saying, "I don't want to be a distraction to these campaigns."

At issue are remarks the Massachusetts Democrat made on Monday before a college audience in California, where he said if people don't study and work hard they could end up getting "stuck in Iraq," referring to President Bush's decision to go to war.

This morning, Kerry apologized for misspeaking, saying he was joking. "Of course I'm sorry about a botched joke. You think I love botched jokes?" Kerry said during an appearance today on Don Imus' nationally syndicated radio program. "I mean, you know, it's pretty stupid."

Kerry said Republicans have "taken those words ... and distorted them on purpose in order to distract America from their policies."

Kerry spokeswoman Amy Brundage said the senator's prepared text had called for him to say: "Do you know where you end up if you don't study, if you aren't smart, if you're intellectually lazy? You end up getting us stuck in a war in Iraq. Just ask President Bush."

The White House jumped on Kerry's remarks, which they interpreted as saying that only uneducated people end up in the military.

Some Democrats moved quickly to try to limit the damage in the final days before the election.

Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., called Kerry's remarks "inappropriate."

"If it was a botched joke, he should just apologize and move on," Rep. Harold Ford, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in Tennessee, said in an interview on MSNBC.

Shortly after 4 p.m. ET today, in a statement e-mailed to reporters, Kerry went the furthest he's gone so far to tell U.S. military personnel that he didn't mean to offend them and is sorry if he did. He also used the statement to take another shot at his critics.

"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," Kerry said. "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," Kerry continued. "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."

Bush, campaigning in Georgia on Tuesday evening, had said Kerry's statement was "insulting and it is shameful" and called on the senator to apologize.

In an Oval Office meeting with reporters today, Bush brushed off Kerry's explanation of his controversial remarks.

"It didn't sound like a joke to me," the president said. "More importantly, it didn't sound like a joke to the troops."

Asked about the controversy today on Rush Limbaugh's radio talk show, Bush was less direct and did not mention Kerry by name.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., also called on Kerry to apologize. He said he wasn't sure "how you could construe" Kerry's comment as a joke.

Calling Kerry "my friend," McCain said on ABC's Good Morning America, "I've found that if it is just a botched joke, then apologize and move on."

The head of the Democratic Party downplayed Kerry's remarks. "Kerry made a blooper. Bloopers happen," Howard Dean told reporters in Burlington, Vt.

Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, head of the Democratic campaign effort, called the White House attacks on Kerry an effort by Bush "to divert attention from his failed Iraq policy."

"Instead of going on television attacking John Kerry and everyone else under the sun, the president ought to be sitting at his desk coming up with a plan for Iraq," Schumer said.

A number of Democratic candidates, mindful that elections are less than a week away, sought to distance themselves from Kerry, who canceled campaign appearances in Iowa, Pennsylvania and Minnesota.

"Sen. Kerry's remarks were poorly worded and just plain stupid," said Montana Senate President Jon Tester, a Democrat trying to unseat GOP Sen. Conrad Burns. "He owes our troops and their families an apology."

In Indiana, Baron Hill, a Democratic candidate for the House, called Kerry's remarks "unacceptable and disturbing" and said he was returing a $1,000 contribution to his campaign from the senator.

White House spokesman Tony Snow, peppered by reporters at a White House briefing, said he was throwing Kerry a "lifeline" by simply suggesting that the senator apologize.

"This should not be hard," Snow said. "Everybody in public life has said something they wish they could take back. You simply apologize."

[Gabu]

But I think this COULD definitely get a tossup state to go rep

Why?  I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone would care what Kerry has to say when it was just a dumb comment that affected no one.

We'll wait and see, but I think people are vastly overestimating the influence that Kerry still holds.  2004 was two years ago.

[Michael Z]

All this has done is rise the probability of Kerry NOT being the 2008 Dem. nominee from 99% to 100%.

[Colin]

I cannot look into my magic ball and answer that. 

Well I have my magic ball with me right now and it's saying that it will have no impact what so ever on anything.

[Reignman]

OHMGZ!KERRYHASBLOWN08FORTEHDEMOCRATS?!?!?!!!>!!!!

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Sure Bush may have botched a war, but it's all over for the Democrats, because they botched a joke.

[Silent Hunter]

The original remark implies Bush is stupid. That might have been just as bad.

[Bacon King]

I could see how a small number of people may see it as 'typical' of Congressional Democrats, and change their vote from the Democratic candidate they personally like to the Republican candidate, so as to vote against Democratic control of Congress.

Not much effect, but it could be enough to tip a tied race- maybe Missouri or a couple of house seats.

In the long run, though, what little effect it had will be diminished. By 2008, it will be so far in the past that it wouldn't realistically keep him from trying to run for President again. Though, regardless, he won't win.

[Middle-aged Europe]

Because of John Kerry's outraaaageous comments the Democrats are now gonna lose the next three presidential elections. Minimum.



(Believe it or not, but this was even reported in German media! The congressional elections are pretty well covered in Germany anyway. Of course, most of it is heavily biased in favor of the Democrats. Any Republican who thinks that the U.S. media have a "liberal" bias, check out the German media. Not that there are many people here who are bothered about overtly pro-Democratic news coverage of U.S. politics.
One exception seems to be the N24 news channel. This morning I saw a report about the Kerry comment and the conclusion of their correpondent in Washington was basically that Kerry simply acted like a stupid jerk. But N24 is also the channel which is airing those "documentaries" about the life on U.S. aircraft carriers and the history of the U.S. Air Force every day. So, they're pro-U.S. military anyway.)

[ian]

You honestly think that ONE comment - will reverse the general distaste for the Republicans - wishful thinking.

I voted for the war before I voted against it.