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« Today's Other Holiday | Main | Philanthropist-Kings » November 01, 2006What goes around...George Allen was the first politician and potential '08 Presidential contender to make a gaffe this year on the campaign trail which was captured on YouTube, but he wasn't the last. The blogosphere has been in an uproar this week over a stump speech in which John Kerry appeared to characterize American troops as poorly educated: Just as Allen denies deliberately using an obscure racial epithet in a speech, Kerry claims that his insult was meant to be targeted at President Bush, not the troops. A Kerry aide told CNN that the remark was supposed to be a joke saying that if you don't take academics seriously, "You end up getting us stuck in a war in Iraq." And just as I gave Allen the benefit of the doubt, I am also giving Kerry that same benefit. (And so is conservative blogger La Shawn Barber.) Of course, I think the joke was a poor choice in the first place. "Bush is stupid" jokes are as tired as Michael Moore after running up three flights of stairs, and coupling it with a slam about Iraq just adds bad taste to unoriginality. And just as Allen probably derailed his 2008 hopes with his gaffe, Democrats may be even less likely to nominate Kerry again after this foot-in-mouth incident. But I don't believe Kerry is so stupid to openly state that only the most ignorant young people today choose to serve in the military--even if he secretly believed that to be the case. Posted by Eric Seymour at November 1, 2006 12:05 PM CommentsI concur. I take Kerry's stated intention as truth, and as such he doesn't deserve the front page attention this is receiving. On other hand, as you pointed out, even his intended "joke" is stupid. Either way, things like this shouldn't decide elections. Posted by: Joshua Claybourn at November 1, 2006 12:26 PM | permalink "If you don't study, if you aren't smart, if you're intellectually lazy, you'll end up screwing up a prepared line, helping keep the President in power, and keeping the country stuck in a war in Iraq." Posted by: Balta at November 1, 2006 01:05 PM | permalink The faux outrage is deafening out there. Bah. Right. John "Did I Ever Tell You I Served in Viet Nam?" Kerry meant to say that our soldiers are stupid. Anyone who tells you they believe that was Kerry's intent is either incredibly ignorant or a liar. Posted by: Doug at November 1, 2006 03:00 PM | permalink "...may be even less likely to nominate Kerry again..." Please don't tell me there are Dems who still think nominating Kerry is a good idea. Please. Posted by: Kelly at November 1, 2006 06:03 PM | permalink Posted by: PM at November 1, 2006 08:02 PM | permalink Kerry had his chance in '04. Per '08, as Heidi Klum would say, "I'm sorry. But you are out." (And that was pre-botched joke.) Look instead to people like Bill Richardson, Russ Feingold, Wesley Clark and John Edwards to get the D crowds fired up while the Washington establishment drones endlessly on about the 'inevitibility" of HRC. But speaking of kerfluffles, it looks like John Boehner just pulled a Kerry himself, except the Majority Leader wasn't joking. From CNN's The Situation Room: Boehner: ...let's not blame what's happening in Iraq on Rumsfeld. Blitzer: But he's in charge of the military. Boehner: But the fact is the generals on the ground are in charge and he works closely with them and the president. It's the troops fault!? Oopsie! Now Reid, Dean and the Dems are all over him like a wet blanket. What's next? Will the "stuffed suit White House mouthpiece" be demanding an apology from Boehner too? What goes around indeed. Posted by: JohnS at November 1, 2006 10:04 PM | permalink It would be much easier to give Kerry the benefit of the doubt if he didn't have such a history of making comments condemning US troops. Posted by: ucfengr at November 2, 2006 07:20 AM | permalink Post a comment |
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