John Kerry

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mystery Squid @ Nov 1 2006, 09:31 AM) [snapback]341842[/snapback]</div>

Some wars. I wasn't around but maybe only vietnam was as futile.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dbermanmd @ Nov 1 2006, 09:52 AM) [snapback]341854[/snapback]</div>

More thoughtful people can make the distinction between anti-American Soldier and anti-war. Kerry has always being the latter. I think because he would rather save lives than waste them in war.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dbermanmd @ Nov 1 2006, 10:30 AM) [snapback]341874[/snapback]</div>

Always happy to help with your education.

If I am president, I will be prepared to use military force to protect our security, our people and our vital interests. But I will never send our troops into harm's way without enough firepower and support.

John F. Kerry, 2004 Presidential Debates

 

OK, I'm convinced, I won't vote for Kerry this election if you'll stop listening to Rush "Kick the Disabled" Limbaugh.

 

As far as I'm concerned, Kerry's comment was taken out of context. Regardless, it is still an insult to our troops, no matter how he meant it. Even if he had the best intentions in the world, intentions aren't much compared to what is actually done. That said, it was basically a slip of the tongue. Whether it represents something deeper inside him or not, I'll leave to a professional psychologist to figure out. As for my viewpoints of him and the Democratic party, it affects me about as much as Bush's repeated mis-statements do. Which is to say, not a whole lot. (But PLEASE learn to pronounce nuclear correctly.) Anyone in a public speaking position will eventually mess something up. And in the kind of high-pressure situations that prominent politicians are in, I expect mistakes.

Personally, it's not worth all the mess that's being made of it. But the Republicans are going to continue accusing Democrats of being against the troops, and the Democrats are going to continue accusing Republicans of being against the American people. That's ok though, because next Wednesday, most people are going to forget about this.

 

Open mouth... engage foot....

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Alric @ Nov 1 2006, 10:59 AM) [snapback]341858[/snapback]</div>

Boy am I glad people never listen to the things I say as closely as they do these guys. There is always something that sounded good in my mind, only to have it come out of my mouth all screwed up.

How's that go ? Keep silent and people wonder or open mouth and remove all doubt. :huh:

 

I'm glad you brought up the war in Iraq, Doc. How's that working out for you Republicans?

STAY THE COURSE! AWWKK!! MISSION ACCOMPLISHED, BRING IT ON! AWWKK!!!

 

Oh Doberman ...

Why weren't you in the military ?

Nothing like getting a chickhawk's feathers all fussed up.

Personally, I am not sure what Kerry meant, only that the neocons are hoping to use it as political fodder to distract from their insanity.

I will say though, that I live in an affluent neighborhood that is votes republican, and EVERY one of my children's friends parents who are republican are against *their* children going to Iraq. Not against the war per se, or /other/ children going to Iraq. So Doberman's et al hypocrisy is common from my experience.


Honesty check: in a volunteer army, it IS in fact the socially disadvantaged who are inclined to enlist for monetary reasons, and that group is over represented as a result. The National Guard offers the same attraction in peace-time. Sorry that it is not PC to say so in public, but that does not make it any less true.


So /my/ statement would have been: Succeed in school, kids, because if you do not, the likelihood of dying in Iraq in the shrub's war becomes more likely.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(richard schumacher @ Nov 1 2006, 11:13 AM) [snapback]341909[/snapback]</div>

Yeah, maybe this whole Kerry tempest-in-a-teacup is a good thing. It'll blow over in a day or two, but folks will have Iraq on their minds again.

 

The same way Kerry did. Is Kerry running for office? No. Does Kerry have anything to do with the mess in Iraq? No. Does Kerry have anything to do with the mess of the economy? No. Did Kerry say something to divert everyone from the real issue? You bet!

So did Rush, the guy who likes to kick disabled people. So let's talk about him, and why Conservatives hate disabled people, OK?

 

I think Kerry said the truth. To paraphrase, "Study hard and you'll be a success in life." Don't we all say that to our kids? I did.

"Screw up, flunk out, slack off, and you'll get the short straw." I said that a time or two also. Where is there for young people to go who chose this second option? The military has been famous for taking underprivileged or underachieving youth and turning them into stalwart citizens. Only now the career opportunities are being trumped by roadside bombs, a very important distinction.

Who do you think is being blown up daily in Iraq? It isn't an elite squad of college grads with Phi Beta Kappa keys hanging from their dog-tag chains. For the most part, they are people who joined up in the hope for something better. As the blessed Barbara Bush once said in another situation, "This is working very well for them."

It worked for me. I was walking down the street one day, out of money for college, no place to live, and I saw a sign in front of the post office. It said, "Learn to Fly! Join the Air Force!" Don't tell me that advertising doesn't work! I marched right in and never looked back. See "An Officer and a Gentleman" for some background.

Many of my service friends had similar stories. Even the vaunted grads of the service academies are often young people who went there because they couldn't afford top colleges. Kerry didn't say they were dumb, just short of opportunity or drive at some critical moment of their lives.

It may have been a bit impolitic for him to say this, but it sure resonated with me. I need no apology. If I'd worked harder in school and had better support, instead of becoming an airline captain I might have been....a lawyer? It DID work very well for me!

 

This is what he was supposed to have said. . .

"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

This is what he said . . .

"You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."
A couple of questions . . .

First, if it was supposed to be a botched joke where was the joke yesterday? I mean why didn't they offer it up yesterday to show the mistake? It may have been believable then especially if they would have had notes, you know what those are right? I know why. . . it's because it wasn't a joke he said what he meant and meant what he said. It took his team a day to come up with some dumba$$ joke that isn't even remotely funny.

Second, why aren't there any similarities between the two? I mean in the botched one above he doesn't even mention Bush which is supposed to be the punch line.

Kerry just another liberal consumed with hate.

Wildkow

http://mediamatters.org/items/200611010002

MITCHELL: No, you didn't mangle the lead as much as John Kerry mangled either the thought process or what he meant to say. It's hard to imagine that he really meant to say, "get us stuck in Iraq," given the context. He was speaking in Los Angeles about education, about students -- to college people, so I'm not entirely clear on what's happened.

He, we understand, is about to have a news conference and explain this, but it's going to be very tough. It's hard to believe that the Democrats could give away a national security advantage, hard-fought, this close to Election Day, but this is going to cause a ruckus. And as you've already seen, Tony Snow and others in the Republican camp are jumping on him, and it's understandable.