What nimh said, and I'm not sure having Kerry stumping for Democratic candidates was a good idea to begin with. The fact that Bruce Baley (and perhaps others down the line) is canceling an appearance with Kerry won't hurt him in the least. Having Kerry on the campaign trail might help Democratic candidates raise money from Democrats, but it certainly isn't going to help with the swing vote.
Kerry is, was, and probably will remain a dork.
Kerry
I'm surprised that all of you have not not viewed the complete Kerry statement. The clips that are being shown on TV do not include the previous two sentences by Kerry. He was talking about President Bush's incompetence and continued with his botched comment about education and ending up in Iraq. He made no mention of the troops at all.
Kerry said that he botched a joke that his aides said had been prepared as follows: "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."
It is obvious that Kerry was referring to the President and not the troops. Clever editing and organized GOP talking points fueled the political controversy.
If Kerry had been smart, he would have immediately admitted that he stumbled over his choice of words and didn't mean to suggest that the troops were uneducated. He should have apologized for his gaff. Kerry would never say such a thing. But Kerry wasn't politically smart, and he made his situation worse. The GOP took advantage of it.
Yes, BBB .... as many of us have said, Kerry is a dork.
Whether or not he intended to, Kerry insulted members of the military and their families. He should apologize. When one insults someone, even inadvertently, one apologizes --- it's the civil thing to do.
Kerry's non-apologetic response may have been an emotionally spontaneous reaction, but I somehow doubt it. The man still wants to be president. If and when he gets himself in a pickle he (and his advisors) must be thinking of his chances in 2008 when they fashion a response.
In this case, it seems they think they can tap into a barely existent residue of outrage for the Swiftboat affair. "Those damned Right-wingers are up to their old tricks and I'm not going to stand for it!"
Trouble is that he said what he said. No one has manipulated his words or taken them out of context.
It's certainly possible that he meant to insult Bush (who, by the way performed better at Yale than did Kerry of Vietnam), but given the history of his comments about American soldiers, it's also possible that he meant that fighting men and women in Iraq are largely uneducated.
Either way, there are a lot of insulted men and women out there who are not following Republican talking points. Why not apologize to them?
Personally, I hope he doesn't. I think this is too little too late to affect the elections, but to the extent that it can be favorable for Republicans, it will be most effective if Kerry continues to keep the story in the news by not apologizing.
As for what this says about American elections? Not much that's different from other peaceful elections around the world.
Ticomaya wrote:Yes, BBB .... as many of us have said, Kerry is a dork.
And so is Bush by that standard. Bush is an even bigger dork since he has screwed up far more statements than Kerry ever has.
So, Bush is a dork..
Bush is a dork...
Bush is a dork....
Ticomaya wrote:Yes, BBB .... as many of us have said, Kerry is a dork.
Well, at least we can all agree on that.
Finn dAbuzz wrote:Bush (who, by the way performed better at Yale than did Kerry of Vietnam)
Are you going for some "most bizarro statement of the week" award, Finn?
Re: Kerry
BumbleBeeBoogie wrote:I'm surprised that all of you have not not viewed the complete Kerry statement. The clips that are being shown on TV do not include the previous two sentences by Kerry. He was talking about President Bush's incompetence and continued with his botched comment about education and ending up in Iraq. He made no mention of the troops at all.
Kerry said that he botched a joke that his aides said had been prepared as follows: "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."
It is obvious that Kerry was referring to the President and not the troops. Clever editing and organized GOP talking points fueled the political controversy.
If Kerry had been smart, he would have immediately admitted that he stumbled over his choice of words and didn't mean to suggest that the troops were uneducated. He should have apologized for his gaff. Kerry would never say such a thing. But Kerry wasn't politically smart, and he made his situation worse. The GOP took advantage of it.
I confess; I just skimmed over the remarks people later made and made assumptions on what exactly he did say. (I can't hear those video things very well so I just read the remarks on the link McG left) I should have went for another source before posting anything but...
Now I kinda feel sorry for him as well as feeling stupid for my post of yesterday with all that bit about there being more people from the lower income brackets...
Being a dork is demonstrably not a hindrance to winning elections.
nimh wrote:Finn dAbuzz wrote:Bush (who, by the way performed better at Yale than did Kerry of Vietnam)
Are you going for some "most bizarro statement of the week" award, Finn?
Are you claiming Bush did not perform better at Yale than Kerry?
Finn dAbuzz wrote:nimh wrote:Finn dAbuzz wrote:Bush (who, by the way performed better at Yale than did Kerry of Vietnam)
Are you going for some "most bizarro statement of the week" award, Finn?
77 v 76
OK. I misread your odd label "Kerry of Vietnam" as "Kerry in Vietnam" - ie, "Bush performed better at Yale than did Kerry in Vietnam" - which struck me as a rather bizarre statement (like, I dunno, "young Steve was a better man at chess than Dave was in Iraq").
John Kerry has the same old mindset he had in the 60's, and has amply demonstrated it again for all to see, if they are willing to admit it. The Swift Boaters were 100% correct.
100% correct about what exactly?
who cares how Bush performed compared to Kerry at Yale?
They are BOTH dorks, which is even an insult to regular dorks.
Though I would pick the Kerry dork if I had a knife put against my throat, I don't find him all that more morally sound than the other dork. Though with less blood on his hands. He should still apologize, I believe. It would be personally more beneficial for him, because no matter how he stomps his foot and explains and twists, it remains looking stupid and inappropriate. Shrug. I don't care either way, really. I just know what my instinct would be.
Re: Kerry
revel wrote:
I confess; I just skimmed over the remarks people later made and made assumptions on what exactly he did say. (I can't hear those video things very well so I just read the remarks on the link McG left) I should have went for another source before posting anything but...
Now I kinda feel sorry for him as well as feeling stupid for my post of yesterday with all that bit about there being more people from the lower income brackets...
[url=http://www.able2know.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=2351576#2351576]revel[/url] wrote:Not discounting the fact there are some people who join the military because they want to rather than a way to get ahead. A larger majority are those in the lower income racket who can't afford to go to college.
http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/363523p-309512c.html
Having said that, it was a stupid remark for Kerry to make in this patriotic political climate. But I really doubt it makes any difference in the way people are going to vote November 7.
That '05 Juan Gonzalez article you cited, revel, and the Charlie Rangel silliness behind it, was missleading and off the mark when it was written and remains so today. The implication that the "Urban Poor", or any other "Disadvantaged" demographic for that matter, form the pool from which the US military predominantly draws recruits is plain and simple a lie. In point of fact, among the enlistees in today's US military by comparison with the same-age demographics and overall general demographics of the US population, those coming from urban areas are significantly under-represented, ethnic minorities overall are slightly though admittedly statistically insignificantly under-represented, highschool graduates are heavily over-represented, as are those coming from rural areas and those coming from families with incomes above the US median family income. Today's volunteer enlistee typically is among the cream of US youth overall, making the choice to join the military from among the many carreer and educational opportunities available to individuals of like educational achievement and socioeconomic demographic.
Department of Defense: Population Representation in the Military Services
Who Are the Recruits? The Demographic Characteristics of US Military Enlistment, 2003-2005
Center for Data Analysis Report #06-09
Kane, T (Ph.D.)
October 27, 2006
John Kerry's remark was as politically inept as anything that moron in the White House has said... I'll give you that...howeverf there was no intent to dishnor our troops and the swift boat ass kisses are still full of ****
Regardless what if any impact Kerry's current gaffe may have on the midterm elections, he's done nothing to upgrade his image among those actually in the military -
I imagine also that the short list of potential '08 Democrat Presidential Candidates has been shortened by one.
Good to see our troops have a sense of humor. Lord, do I love these guys!!
woiyo wrote:Good to see our troops have a sense of humor. Lord, do I love these guys!!
Sidebar - I received the pic early this morning in an eMail from an in-theater Marine ... I see now its all over the web; apparently somebody else on that Marine's mailing list (its huge) sent it to Drudge, and the blogoshere is having a fieldday with it.
