After only hearing what Kerry said at the rally once, I was willing to refrain from dismissing his excuse out of hand. Now that I’ve seen the video, I’m convinced that he was telling the truth about it being a “joke” that he screwed up. The point here, though, is…..so what? It doesn’t make him any less of a despicable human being. So in this one instance he wasn’t denigrating the troops. So what? He has a history that we’re all aware of. No need to go into it again here, although I have pictured “Jenjis” Khan coming back from the dead to smack him around just for being a pretentious twit.
So Kerry and the Dem flacks who are all over TV are saying that it was actually meant to be about Bush. He was calling the President of the United States an ignorant, uneducated loser. Oh. Well, that makes everything better. Never mind the fact that Bush had better grades at Yale than Johnny Einstein here. Or that he has an MBA from Harvard. That this current crop of Democrats feel free to constantly denigrate the President in a disgusting, insulting way, and to deliberately try to undercut him during a war in a way that gives comfort to our enemies and delivers fodder for their propaganda on a silver platter is a testament to their utter bankruptcy and venality.
I hope this spurs the base to get out and vote. Having these vultures in power would be an unmitigated disaster for the country.
Update: Sorry about the link. Fox News has removed the vid, and the only one I can find cuts out too soon.
Fix link?
As a point of clarification, I meant to say this: Je vous aurais bien aide, mais je ne vous aime pas.
The damage is done. There’s a prayer in the Psalms that says: “And let the enemy fall into his own traps.”
He was bashing Bush, and let slip bashing all of the USA’s military. So there was nothing benign going on to begin with. He was being lowbrow, just taking cheap shots at the president, and the same old Kerry that never left reared his ugly head again.
And he can’t give a straight apology for it. That is probably what really does it for me.
I still don’t get the joke, or whatever it was supposed to be.
“If you don’t do well in school, you’ll wind up with degrees from Yale and Harvard and in the dead end job of POTUS?”
“If you don’t study enough, you’ll get low grades and vote to invade Iraq?” Like Kerry?
Kerry complaints don’t have a damned thing to do with Bush’s education, so I don’t see why they should lead to that “joke”. There’s no there there, unless you consider the old, shopworn, elitist disdain for the fools who comprise the cannon fodder that the lying liars send off to die in their wars for profit…
THAT fits perfectly.
Occam’s Razor, kids. And if he was trying to be funny, why didn’t he look like someone delivering a punchline?
I don’t think it was a joke. Anyone old enough to be in high school during Vietnam will tell you that this was something you heard all the time: “Study hard, get good grades, get your student deferrment, or you’ll end up stuck in Vietnam.” I think Kerry was warning these fellow Democrat students, using the scare tactics of his youth.
Unless you believe that what Kerry was trying to get across was “Stay in school, make an effort to be smart, or you might end up as President of the United States and engage in a war that Democrats call a quagmire.” Yeah, the old “study hard or end up President” speech!
Not that it makes much sense (except in terms of ironic cosmic balance) for Kerry to call the president “stupid” and “lazy,” seeing as how Bush got better grades and a more advanced degree than Kerry did…and Bush beat Kerry in an election… and Kerry was busy shooting his side in the foot a week before the election. Hey, at least Kerry is a genius, unlike “stupid” Bush!
For the sake of argument, let’s say that CraigC is right and that it was a “botched joke.” There are various conservatives, like Derbyshire at NRO (or what the monky calls “wingnut central”) who see the video that way. I note that the local reporting was that the comment was mixed with “a mixture of laughter and gasps,” which tells you that even people at a Dem rally had differing interpretations of the event. But let’s set that aside. Let’s—for the sake of argument—say it was a “botched joke.”
Given Kerry’s record, it could also be said to be a Freudian slip.
Kerry is a hack that gained notoriety by accusing his fellow soldiers of war crimes, who went on national TV last year to complain about our troops in Iraq “terrorizing” women and children.
If he “botched” the joke, it’s no great shock that he managed to “botch” it in the particular way he did, didn’t recognize it at the time, and won’t issue a true apology to the troops even now.
Now’s as good a time as any for a refresher on intentionalism. Jeff?
Thank heaven he’s not president. What would he have botched in negociations with, say, Kim Jong-il? His sense of humor would have got us nuked.
C’mon… this whole “botched joke” thing is just a cover being pushed by the MSM for a statement that was absolutely clear in its meaning. The “joke” excuse just doesn’t make sense, no matter how to contort it. I can’t believe some of you are actually falling for that and giving him the benefit of any doubt…
– Actually frank, that particular attempt to spin is going over so well with the electorate and our military, that theres a gathering pile of dems condemning his comments and almost begging him apologise, and then go home.
– With the exception of the usual DNC talking heads trying gamely to defend him, the Left is running from this mess like a scalded goose.
I noticed that Phil Angelides, the thoroughly forgotten reason that Kerry was speaking in the first place, thought that the Kerry remarks were the highlight of the stop.
I wonder if he still feels that way……
Whether Frenchy meant it that way or not, it’s still the screeching, pompous, arrogant non-apology that took a local brush fire and turned it into an apocalyptic conflagration. This is so reflective of Kerry’s personal style, his “smarter and better than you” attitude. This is also the point that our sainted trolls either ignore or attempt to explain away.
I blame Rove and the Orbs of Confusion. The October surprise has arrived!!
I believe that the tin-eared politician that is John Kerry would simply not be capable of recharacterizing a genuine mean-spirited slam on the military as a plausible Bush-is-dumb applause line. That reversal would be a stroke of political genius reminicent of Jenjis Clinton.
So, given the moron he is, it must be true that he intended it as a joke and it came out as an embarrassment. In fact, I may have heard him use similar jokes before in the context of “education” speeches–“Hey kids, study and stay in school or you might wind up getting selected to be President by the Supreme Court. LOL.” I think Jeff would have an interesting comment on this.
Here’s what the “troops” that Kerry claims to support think about the whole thing:
http://www.drudgereport.com/
Check out the picture in th upper Left.
Classic…
Kerry, if he is to be believed, was treading in the shallow waters of Democratic political humor. That “joke” is the tail end of a long line of lame, disingenuous, middle school gags that include Ford as a stumbling dork, Reagan as a napping senile, and Bush Sr. as a wimp (gotta love this last one as the guy was a friggin’ fighter pilot in the Pacific, fer cryin’ out loud.)
What you have is the sum total of Democratic political discourse boiled down to the equivalent of several pre-teens perfoming an atomic wedgie and chanting “Billy is a butt face.”
BTW: If Frenchy has no need to apologise then why is he canceling campaign appearances? Because the candidates (you know, John, the people who are actually running for office) consider his appearance an embarrassment. One should apologise if one is an embarrassment, dont’ya think?
SGT: That picture is so precious it brings tears to my eyes…
I initially thought the Kerry statement was a typical leftist line about how the military is a death trap for the ignorant and stupid, but changed my mind once I heard the explanation. It seems that Lileks identified it as a Bush joke from the beginning. Lileks:
I think this explains the ferocity of Kerry’s response. He’s so unimaginitive that he can’t imagine that anyone failed to read his mind. Hence the disbelief and anger that anyone could seriously believe he meant anything other than what he meant. I think it’s very important that conservatives not feign outrage, but I guess if you think he meant what he said, or that it has larger implications, I guess have at him.
But I just feel like this is something that liberals do with Bush a lot: they misquote Bush or catch a misstatement, get outraged, and then when confronted with the context and actual statement, they remain outraged, because “I wouldn’t put anything past that lying liar.”
ss
Normally I would agree with you, but there are three issues that turn me against this course of action.
1) The election is in 6 days
2) Because they’ve done it to Bush and payback is now a bitch.
3) Of all the politicians on all the Earth, I despise this pompous poof shirt the most.
There you go; one practical politics, one conservative self-gratification (you know what I mean you dirty minded libertarians!), and one personal enmity, all rolled into a Tony Snow fueled big old slime politics can of whoop ass.
YEEAARRGGHH!!!
Lileks and I will have to agree to disagree on this one.
The pic of the troops is great, but the “r” should have been backwards.
Frank, you’re free to think what you want, but if you watch the video carefully, you can see that he thinks he’s getting off a good one. What’s weird about it is the unenthusiastic, almost detached way he smiles, as if he subconsciously knows he just stepped in it. Kind of like that split-second where you know you’re about to lock your keys in the car but you can’t stop yourself from shutting the door.
– Kerry just folded, finally crumpling under ferocious pressure from members of his own party. Hillery was really ratcheting it up with her “in your face John” comments. Dick Morris said it was the first shots across the Kerry bow from the Hillery camp in the ‘08 primaries.
– Kerry’s official apology starts off with the usual, “sorry I got caught, not that I did it” excuse of being mis-undertsood, but eventually admits his blunder and apologises to any families and servicemen I may have offended”
– Too little too late. The Dems are hoping really hard he ment what he said about going back to Washington, ending his efforts on the campaign trail, “to avoid becoming a distraction”. The verbal equivalent of saving a dinner menu off the Titanic.
BJTexs,
I’m surprised by your candor in admitting that the attack is groundless but usefully manipulable. That’s better than lying about your motivations too. Ace has demonstrated some of that attitude also: basically, “payback’s a bitch.” And I can see the adolescent attraction of that, sure. Liberals use that “they did it first” excuse all the time for their outrageous, “get-tough” conduct–(usually based on a fantasy that Republicans are directly responsible for their every misfortune.)
But your admission certainly undercuts the contention, (which you might otherwise want to use later) that the conservatives are the sober, mature and logical ones among us, while the liberals are the fanatical, contrarian reactionaries. So don’t plan to earn much respect for grown-up conservative integrity if you’re willing to lie for short-term partisan advantage, and don’t plan to sound very convincing when you later defend a Republican who says something stupid. Just sayin.
ss – Seems to me that watching the Left through this election cycle, so far topped by this “cherry” from Kerry’s own lips, the Right doesn’t really have to do much, if any, attacking. The honestly felt “elitist snobbery” of the Left whack-jobs never fails to seep through the cracks, with no ones help.
ss
I don’t see the lie in this at all or that the attack is groundless. I’ve admitted my personal enmity towards Kerry. I can’t stand him even a little bit. One week before the election, payback is a bitch. But the attacks are not groundless nor based on lies.
Kerry said what he said. We can debate intentions vs. meaning vs “would he really say that?” until the cows come home. What should be beyond debate is that he pompously and arrogantly said that he has nothing to apologize for. Bingo! Brush fire becomes conflagration.
Throw in the non-apology apology and I have no problem being a sober, well mannered conservative who is going to point out that this
elitist morondemocrat is the de facto leader of their party and both his words and his actions reflect poorly on them. I would suggest that with no lying and the bare minimum amount of manipulation this issue will continue to be a nice light on the darker side of Democratic politics.He had nothing to apologize for, then he apologized. Headline for the coming week. SWEET!
I think Jeff’s intentionalist take on this would be that if Kerry intended to make a joke, he was right not to apologize. If he meant to make a joke, the “sorry if you were offended” pseudo-apology is essentially the appropriate response. Of course, there’s still hay to be made here: Kerry’s carelessness and too-coy ridicule of the President is demonstrative of the Democrats’ pettiness and lack of seriousness. His angry, accusatory, paranoid response is par for the Democratic course. Kerry is the Democratic standard-bearer and a careless, loser fop. They’re a party standing for nothing more than powerlust, mindless reactionism, and dangerous utopianism. Blah blah blah too many troops, too few troops, cut and run, stay and die. Democrats are playing word games while the President is trying to win a frickin’ war against goddam suicide bombers. Uh, little help?
ss
I think that you nailed it. Sometimes my “Portagee” blood boils over and I confess that I have no sense of cosmic balance when Kerry is involved. Perhaps a better stand would be using your notes from above and crafting a message of “serious talk for serious times.” That would play off of the botched joke line and still allow the “waffle” approach for no apology/apology.
I promise not to call him a pompous, arrogant, elitist, socialist, silver spoon, screaching, pansy ass anymore……..maybe….
That’s OK, BJ. I understand that you’re a bit tired.
I’ll be glad to take over the duty, except that I can’t be as complimentary as you generally are.
John Kerry is a dickheaded moron, a bombastic egotist who has never in his life let the previous liar go un-topped. He screwed up telling a simple joke because he is an elitist bigot and was telling an elitist bigoted joke, and telling a bigoted joke reminded him of his bigoted, obsolete stereotype of soldiers and the military. His soaring intellect did the rest.
The man is a total waste of food, water, oxygen, and sewage disposal facilities. Any person who has actually, voluntarily given him food, whether or not for payment, should be prosecuted under the Geneva Conventions for crimes against humanity.
Too bad the Dems managed to get him to shut up and go home. I really, really want to see Kerry stumping the Nation, reminding us of just what a disaster it would have been to elect him—and, by implication, what a disaster it would be to elect his defenders, supporters, and apologists.
Regards,
Ric
While I piuck the Honey Nut Cherrios off of my notebook screen may I just say, Ric, that you are the best. Jeff may bring me to this place but it’s commentaters like you that keep me coming back for more. (thank you, sir, and may I have another?)
After reading your take on Kerry, I’m going to stop apologizing for my personal enmity.
while the 2 of us rant and rave this article in the Telegraph is spot on.
Dammit, I got milk in my kerboard…
Don’t be shy, Ric. Tell us how you REALLY feel.
TW: instead of those condemnations, I would have chosen 27 other vile descriptions to paint a picture of the dispicable creature that is Jon Forbes Kerry.