November 1, 2006
PRETEND YOU'RE A GROWN-UP:
Gonna have to say just this to the cameras.
MORE:
A Statement from John Kerry (JohnKerry.com)
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.
They can't seriously think a press release will do the trick--the beast demands a sound bite. Posted by Orrin Judd at November 1, 2006 4:29 PM
The MSM will (and already has) tried to cover Kerry's butt on this. The seeds of the meme are in the last paragraph - it is the GOP that is not serious, the Dems are.
Posted by: AWW at November 1, 2006 4:52 PMHis words were not misinterpreted. Otherwise, he'd have nothing to apologize for.
Posted by: kevin whited at November 1, 2006 5:03 PMI foresee a new ad: crow goes down better with Heinz ketchup!
Did he ever apologize for the lies he spread during his Senate testimony?
Posted by: Sandy P at November 1, 2006 5:32 PMDoesn't matter what he said or what he meant. He's a politician and it's his job to be politic.
Posted by: oj at November 1, 2006 5:35 PMA real apology would have stopped at the first line.
As a joke, it wouldn't have been funny even if he'd got it right. I guess that's what happens when you use Trent Lott as your humor coach.
"... my poorly stated joke ..."
Ignoring the plain meaning of his original statement, that only ignorant, uneducated people join the military, if it was a joke, then what was the intended meaining? He claims he was referring to Bush, but Bush has an MBA and this contradicts his preceding statement of the value of education. The only other possibilities are that he was implying that all Republicans/conservatives are uneducated or that the voters are uneducated and elected and supported Bush on Iraq. Where is the purported joke?
Posted by: jd watson at November 1, 2006 5:53 PMjd watson:
He's speaking to an audience that skips the evidence stage of an argument and goes right for the "Bush is a moron" finale.
Posted by: Matt Murphy at November 1, 2006 8:06 PM"I apologize to no one!!"
Well, except maybe everyone, but not really.
OJ, guys with seats for life don't have to be politic. They just have to stay away from the little boys.
Posted by: ratbert at November 1, 2006 9:52 PMIf the Dems don't take over the House and Senate Kerry is going to be public enemy #1 for the Dems and the MSM.
Posted by: AWW at November 1, 2006 11:06 PMHe only has a seat as long as Ms Heinz is willing to pay for it.
Posted by: oj at November 1, 2006 11:16 PMWho is going to beat him? He could face a Dem challenger in the primary, but that seems unlikely (unless one of MA's House members gets the itch). However, no Republican is going to win that seat (absent the little boys).
Although, Gerry Studds was re-elected 5 times after his little 'incident', and I suspect he would have been had the child been 15 or 16 as well. 12 probably would have finished him (maybe not today, however).
Posted by: ratbert at November 2, 2006 10:06 AMWeld, Cellucci & Romney would all beat him.
Posted by: oj at November 2, 2006 10:32 AM