Bravo to KO!

Uneducated Grunt:
Soldierswife:

Ahh, the Blue to Green Bonus… I haven’t taken it because I’m not in this for the money. I’m in it because I LOVE my country and I’ll use my intellegence to benefit it far better than I could use my strength. Plus, there’s nothing better than watching on the camera as a JDAM gets close enough to a terrorist that you can see he needs a shave…

Posted by Uneducated Grunt | November 1, 2006 12:25 PM

SO are YOU now saying that the Army is uneducated because you’d rather bein in the air force so you can use your intelligence???? Unbelievable . . . .

On Iraqi Orders, Bush Abandons American Soldier To Al-Sadr’s Militia
By Christy Hardin Smith @ 7:54 am

(Photo credit for this heartbreaking shot to Damir Sagolij/Reuters.)

I am shaking with rage at the moment.  American soliders do not abandon their own.  Unless, of course, someone orders them to do so.  Which is exactly what happened when the Bush Administration — via it’s envoy Zalmay Khalilzad — agreed to lift the eight day long blockade and search and rescue mission for the captured American soldier…on the demand and order of the Iraqi government.

You read me correctly, the US envoy in Iraq has decided that our US military personnel should take orders from the Iraqi government and abandon one of our soldiers to the Mahdi Army.  That this decision occurred abruptly after Stephen Hadley’s visit to Baghdad yesterday raises a whole host of questions in my mind — and the press had better damn well be asking for some answers from the Bush Administration today.

The move lifted a near siege that had stood at least since last Wednesday. U.S. military police imposed the blockade after the kidnapping of an American soldier of Iraqi descent. The soldier’s Iraqi in-laws said they believed he had been abducted by the Mahdi Army as he visited his wife at her home in the Karrada area of Baghdad, where U.S. military checkpoints were also removed as a result of Maliki’s action.

The crackdown on Sadr City had a second motive, U.S. officers said: the search for Abu Deraa, a man considered one of the most notorious death squad leaders. The soldier and Abu Deraa both were believed by the U.S. military to be in Sadr City.

The Bush Administration has been encouraging Iraqi-Americans to become more involved in the “liberation” of Iraq.  The American military needs more soldiers with regional language fluency, and Iraqi Americans have an understandable interest and personal stake — with many relatives still living in the war torn nation — in working to make things better.  The American soldier who was captured is of Iraqi-American descent, he was wearing the uniform of the United States…and we have abandoned him to Moqtada Al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army and Sadr City’s rage as of yesterday.

We do not abandon our own.

Unless, of course, you are the Bush Administration — which, apparently, has decided to let the Iraqi government start calling the shots for the US military.  I hear George Bush will be on Limbaugh’s show — wonder if he’ll be asked about his decision to abandon a US soldier to Al-Sadr’s militia, with their penchant for torture, on the orders of the Iraqi head of state?

The corporate media had better start asking questions about this, because the American military taking orders to abandon one of their own from a foreign government is something that every single person with friends and family in Iraq right now will want to know about…immediately.  How many American soldiers are we now willing to leave to the mercies of Al-Sadr’s Army and other torture-wielding militants with no love for the American military presence in the name of propping up Maliki’s government?  George Bush does not get a pass on this one.  Period.  The time for accountability is now.

A BOTCHED JOKE IS MEANINGLESS.

A BOTCHED WAR COSTS LIVES.

Please John, just say you are sorry to the very few troops that might have been confused by all the hype about your comments about Bush being an idiot. You will get free air time to talk about all of Bush’s failed policies.  I have heard all you have said and I know their is a push to fight back.  But this is not the battle you want to fight.  They are saying on MSN and other sights that you are arragant and frankly as a democrat I   can see their point, meaning that perception see really more important than the truth with todays right winged media in control of most off what people see.

I don’t think that Sen. Kerry has to apologize for the ‘idea’ of the joke but since it was mis-spoken (as well as mis-quoted because of it) he needs to say something like, ” I apologize to any present or former GI who was given the impression that I thought she/he unintelligent.  What the joke was supposed to convey is that when you are given the privilige to go to college and don’t use it well, come out uninformed and bull-headed, you will get us into a war for no reason and kill a lot of valuable men and women”
Now, the White House spin doctors are going to have an even bigger field day…and even more distraction that leads this country away from the truth of this war.  The truth of the oil rich getting richer!  I usually vote Democrat and I am cringing today.  I want a STRONG and THOUGHTFUL team in place to get us a different sort of governing than we have today. An intelligent and well-spoken, calm and decisive “for the good of the real people” kind of government.  Is it ever going to happen?  Not with word fumbles like this one.  I am discouraged once again.  I don’t want these oil-loving, war-mongering, life-sucking people in the White House again.

I agree with Kerry the military has lowered the standards to enlist soldiers just to meet the quotas of this war. I have 15 years of service and have been deployed in 1991 and 2002. Which means I have lived thru the changes of the Army and I have watch this conflict turn into a war. Kerry hit it on the head if you don’t get an education the Army will offer you an enlistment bonus and a GED to go to Iraq

harold christenson:

my husband is a college graduate and he joined after he got his degree because he wanted to serve his country. it was his choice. he has been in the army for 27+ years and loves every bit of it. he also has a purple heart (he was shot a year ago last june) so I don’t think you know what your talking about!!!

If nothing else, all these personal stories show how a great a need there is in this country for people to represent them, to tell their stories, to care about their lives and families.

Was anyone watching Tony Snow just now. I don’t have a recording but I believe that Tony Snow was suggesting that Kerry should apologize saying that “it was a mistake, that he had a silver star and he had ‘did his time’” Why would Tony Snow refer to being in the military as “doing time” which in my mind is what people refer to prison as.

Anyone catch this?

-jake

I don’t believe that Sen. Kerry needs to apologize for anything. I understood him to say that if you don’t do well in school (like Bush didn’t) you may end up stuck in a place like Iraq (like Bush is).

Perhaps John Kerry could use this example in clarifying his comments.  Has Jenna enlisted? Has Barbara enlisted? Has Pierce Bush enlisted? Has George P. Bush enlisted? Have Joe Lieberman’s kids enlisted? No, no, no, no, no.  Elitist Republicans and de-facto Republicans stay the course with other people’s kids while their own kids go shopping and cavort around the globe.

Beachmom wrote: (yeah, a real one as opposed to the fake Democrats who are feigning outrage here)
——

Excuse me?  I am 42 years old and have been a registered Democrat since the age of 18.  I have voted in EVERY local, state, and national election since that time.  I completely resent your tone and words!  God forbid that someone disagrees with you and is in your own party. 

[Edited.  Please be respectful of the opinions of others.  Thanx.]

I have a new post up on Liberal Values, primarily on the reaction to the attacks on John Kerry:

http://liberalvaluesblog.com/?p=528

Kerry,

Your a smug smug man, but that’s why i voted for you. WHich is to say your not glib, and your smart enought to know the difference. Unfortunately, most of this country was indifferent.
2008 you and Gore!!

I want Smart, Smug men running my country. Not a puppet for the Glib ones.

Matt Stoller at mydd weighs in:

http://www.mydd.com/story/2006/11/1/133150/739

“To those people who are running scared about John Kerry’s misstatement, I have a simple message.  Get some integrity.  John Kerry served in the military and put his life on the line for this country.  He is one of the only sitting Democratic Senators to genuinely oppose this war by taking on his colleague, Senator Lieberman.  He has done a huge amount for candidates this cycle, and will do more in the future.  And yesterday, he misspoke - any one of us could have made that mistake.  The fact that it’s a controversy is actually not John Kerry’s fault, it’s yours.  You bear the responsibility of buying into the fallacy that gaffes like this matter.  You bear the responsibility of equating a slip of the tongue to a war that has killed hundreds of thousands.  ”

Senator Kerry: Don’t back down. You have nothing to apologize for. Keep firing back. Don’t listen to those Democratic advisors. They led you astray in ‘04. Don’t let them get away with it again.

I am so upset I can barely type. At all the press for not reporting truthfully about this adminstration, and their hit job on John Kerry.

Combing all speeches, for anything to use as propaganda, the GOP went into full battle mode, overnight, with combined resources I wish they’d apply to fixing this country.

All the GOP know how to do is change the subject and make the issue about anything other than their mistakes. Large ones, that combined military and intelligence agencies have criticized.

Public service is Kerry’s life. You need only look at his legislative record for defending the troops on heath care, their benefits, and trying to end a failed civil war, killing needlessly. 

Read the articulate speeches and see the videos full of passion and smart policy choices about making lives better.

A phrase was omitted, Just ask President Bush, and the word “us.” Two letters vs. $2b and 100 plus lives a month lost in Iraq, far worse than a botched joke. 

As the joke was on Bush, he didn’t feel an apology was due to the man who so failed the troops. Today, on Imus, he felt badly for any misunderstanding by the troops, which wouldn’t have happened, had the GOP not done a hit job.

The dust-up is all about creating political edge, and the manipulation of good people who don’t know the facts. With a GOP willingness to target anyone, taking the spotlight off themselves.

This is also about taking out the most successful fundraiser and hardest worker for the Democrats across the country, no matter the means. He has focused on the importance of 2006 to change the direction of the country.

As in the campaign, the media takes the words out of context, and doesn’t show the full content of Kerry’s response.

I, for one, appreciate how he came back to help, faced errors of the campaign, which, frankly, weren’t the reason for the result. More attacks like these, disenfranchisement of voters by many means, or we could have had the wisdom of a President Kerry.

That loss will always sadden me, but having experienced what we needed locally, Kerry worked tirelessly around the country, building the grassroots and identifying good candidates early. Many without any connection to a presidential contest.

Which brings me to a pre-emption all my own. Don’t let whatever shenanigans the GOP pulls next week be masked by this, their Hail Mary pass, which should fail with any justice. Don’t let this media event be blamed, or mask a potential real story of funny numbers due to voter disenfranchisement, electronic or otherwise. 

We have work to do

Kerry apologized enough - on Imus.

Here is something useful: http://thepremise.com

There’s an emotional toll to taking on any power structure, let alone a tyrannical one, and I’m feeling that today.  It’s wearying and frustrating and at times disheartening.

But I also know that’s exactly why George Bush and Karl Rove have been walking around with smiles on their faces, bluffing about their invulnerability.  Those men know that the greatest advantage they have is psychological.  They use the bully pulpit — and I do mean bully pulpit — to every advantage in that regard.

Forcing John Kerry to cancel some campaign visits feels like a victory for the Republicans.  I don’t know that it will change one vote, but it feels bad to Democrats and good to Republicans.  That it’s a trumped-up charge being sold to a willing press only feels all the more dispiriting because it’s unfair in the quaint sense of that word.

But making Republican diehards feel momentarily good doesn’t change the voting dynamic in this election year.  Democrats became giddy on their own, not because Republicans had forced them to.  Between ever-increasing margins in polls and ever-increasing projections about a Democratic wave, emotions separated from reality a couple of weeks ago, and that’s what most Democrats are dealing with today.  It’s not that anything real happened, it’s that the emotional backdrop has changed.

Whatever additional mileage the Republicans, the press, and even some Democrats think they can get out of framing John Kerry, I don’t think it’s going to change any votes.  It’s blunting the euphoria that Democrats were feeling, but for my money that’s not necessarily a bad thing.  It’s also lifting the mood of the diehard Republicans, but those people were going to vote Republican anyway.

So where are we?  Election Day is six days away and Iraq is only getting worse.  If the president who sent our troops to die without adequate body armor or a plan for the peace or an exit strategy to bring them home can demonize a political opponent for a slip of the tongue, then that says something about the person he is and the country we live in.  The choice we have is to accept that or try to change it.

I’m trying to change it.  Vote Democrat next Tuesday.

– Mark Barrett

A BOTCHED JOKE IS MEANINGLESS.

A BOTCHED WAR COSTS LIVES.

Ken, that was an amazing post.  Just when you think your outrage is tapped out.  It’s no surprise, given this story, that Bush has felt it necessary to make a mountain out of this particular flyspeck at this moment in time.

Distract!
Attack!

They make me sick.

Kerry has apologized for misspeaking. But he will not (and should not) apologize to Bush for anything. See AP story at the link below:

Kerry Apologizes for ‘A Botched Joke’
By JENNIFER LOVEN
Associated Press Writer

10:12 AM PST, November 1, 2006

WASHINGTON — Sen. John Kerry apologized for “a botched joke” about President Bush’s Iraq policies that led Bush and fellow Republicans to accuse him of insulting U.S. troops. Some Democrats in close races assailed Kerry, while others called the flap a ploy by the GOP to improve its chances in next week’s midterm elections.

“Of course I’m sorry about a botched joke. You think I love botched jokes?” Kerry said during an appearance Wednesday on Don Imus’ nationally syndicated radio program. “I mean, you know, it’s pretty stupid.”

Kerry, D-Mass., said he meant no offense to troops when he told a college audience Monday that young people might get “stuck in Iraq” if they don’t study hard and do their homework.

On Wednesday, he said, “You cannot get into the military today if you do badly in school.” But he also said the White House was purposely twisting his words and asserted that it is Bush who owes troops an apology for a misguided war in Iraq.

“I’m sorry that that’s happened,” he said of his earlier comment. “But I’m not going to stand back from the reality here, which is, they’re trying to change the subject. It’s their campaign of smear and fear.”

Read the rest here: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/wire/sns-ap-white-house-kerry,1,1565272.story?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines

This is all a ridiculous ploy by the GOP’s, whom are scared about the real chance that they are going to lose the Congress. They are grasping at straws to try and latch on to anything that would throw some spark of negative press at the democrats. Unfortuantely for Kerry they just happened to turn his misspeak into something. They needed to rally their base, which has been surely dissintegrating. However, The attempt will be futile.

Like the coked up radio host who insulted MJ Fox, I don’t think enough explicatives can describe the way I feel about him. So I’ll satisfy my self with Hypocritical Moron.

to Harold Christensen:

Not all of your information is correct.  Not all soldiers who sign up to go to war or re-enlist get an enlistment bonus.  Remember, many who have been in for several years or return to military service recieve that bonus, even though they are leaving their loved ones or jobs to go to war.  But, maybe you don’t believe that they need that and are just too stupid to care, huh?  After all, my husband did not go to college, but has kept the same job for over 20 years.  But since he did not go to college, he should be stuck with being sent to Iraq, huh?  Even though he finds it an honor to serve his country.

Just sharing with you what I couldn’t resist saying to CNN:

I think that any media outlet or reporter who does their work properly would know that Kerry’s joke was at the end of a string of jokes about George W. Bush being incompetent. If someone would take the time to rewind the tape 30 seconds, we would all see that the joke had nothing to do with the troops. Everyone who cares to do their research knows this - and one would think that CNN reporters would fall under this category. I cannot believe that Kerry’s photograph has been the front story on cnn.com all day long. With an election in less than a week, I am appalled that CNN, the “most trusted news network in America,” is chasing this red herring thrown by the GOP to distract from their long list of failures, the top item being the war in Iraq. My 4 month old puppy is shrewder than you. After pretending to throw the ball for her 3 times, she figures out that it’s just a trick. The GOP has been doing this for years, and you still haven’t figured it out.

VietNamVet, thank you for that post - it was inspiring.  I agree with you that they are just praying for Kerry to apologize so they can crow about how they humbled him.

In my humble opinion he’s handling this exactly the right way by getting out of the other candidates’ spotlights, and using the unexpected media spotlight to democratic advantage.  Make them regret they brought this up.  Especially with today’s Iraq story in the news, this can’t deflect any advantage onto Bush.  People don’t trust him - to say the very least.

Jarhead:

Do you not think the troops deserve a CIC who can find a strategy to win?

What do you say to our own intelligence reports indicating that Iraq is making us less safe and increasing terrorism?  Are they lying?

What do you say to this president’s congress that decreased the VA budget this year by over 800 million dollars?

What do you say to not adequately protecting the troops with upgraded body armor? That was the responsibility of this president’s congress, too, and they didn’t do it. 

We all support the troops. I’d like the administration to support them, too. That’s what JK is talking about. And if you knew anything about his record at all, you’d know that he’s on the side of the troops.

Reading Harold Ford and Jon Tester’s comments hurt. Considering how hard Kerry has worked, being an early promoter of Tester, a friendship with Ford, and all that financial support.

With the public not knowing the truth, easier to go along with only days remaining, but it’s like the campaign, and the placing of lies that never get corrected.

I read that there was laughter at the event, after a continuing series of jokes, which CBS, and maybe others, chose not include. Showing, dishonestly, that the joke fell flat. The students got it.

Wish some more of the Democrats would call the spin machine out for what it is, even if the candidates feel they can’t.

We need to work in tandem, realize anyone could get swift-boated, to the detriment of the victim, the party, always, unless we fight back.

I, too, am sad, DiAnne, that this crap works.

I am a registered independent (former Republican, switched in 1990) who proudly supported and voted for John Kerry in 2004.  I still proudly have my NY’ers for Kerry Edwards bumper sticker on my car, and regularly get comments from disillusioned republicans who say ‘I wish I had…’

I am also a 6 year veteran (peacetime) of the US Marine Corps.

All that having been said, I implore Senator Kerry in the strongest possible terms to not retreat from public appearances, despite what your handlers and political operatives may be saying to you in private, these are the same people who told you not to go on the offensive against the Swift Boat attacks.

It doesnt matter what I know, or what the people who read this blog know, or what any other fair minded people know.  Though someone who read your entire comments is fully aware that you were not denigrating the troops, you have to realize the majority of the people get their ‘news’ from sources like Fox news and the various right wing talking heads.

I urge you to call a press conference, you do owe the troops an apology, but not for your comment.  Though I am not a speechwriter, this is something along the lines of what I would like to hear, and what would take the argument head on and put the republicans back on the defensive.

“I have been hearing a lot of people saying that I owe the troops an apology, and after much consideration I realize that I do owe the troops and the American people an apology, but not for the reasons professed by the various right wing slime machine.

I apologize to the american people, for not fighting harder and winning the presidency in 2004.

Had I won, we would be sitting here discussing the progress we made in stabilizing social security and medicare, instead of wondering how to pay for the republicans misconceived privatization attempts.

Had I won, we would be sitting here discussing the progress we were making on reducing the enormous deficit that the republican administration and congress have run up during their tenure, instead of watching them continue to spend our children into a future of massive government debt.

Had I won, we would be sitting here discussing the real reforms that were taking place with our immigration policy, instead of reading how my republican colleagues have approved a multi billion dollar fence across a small portion of our border, in some misguided effort to appease portions of their base.

Had I won, we would be sitting here discussing how my administration completed implementation of the 9-11 commissions recommendations, instead of continuing to get stonewalled by the current administration, who have failed to implement any.

Had I won, we would be sitting here discussing how under my administration, real changes to our homeland security were taking effect, instead of watching the current administration try to hand control of our ports over to a country that was home to some of the 9-11 hijackers.

Had I won, we could be sitting here talking about the oversight of one government branch to another, instead of finding out after the fact that the sole party in charge chose protecting one of their own over the safety and security of children, entrusted to the care of the page system.

To the troops a special apology; I apologize for not fighting harder to win the presidency.  For not fighting back against the scurrilous attacks against my own military service by those same shadow groups who smeared Senator McCain’s service during the 2000 primary, and for letting a group of people who never served their country in uniform run this government and this brave military.

And mostly, I apologize for not fighting harder to win the presidency, because if I had won, we could be sitting here discussing how the timeline set by my administration in Iraq led to real progress in the transition, and how we were planning to welcome home the last of our brave troops, instead of marking the end of the deadliest month for our brave forces since the invasion.

Our troops deserve better than to serve an administration that would rather spend more american lives than admit they made a mistake.”

Anyway, I have no illusions that anyone in any proximity to the Senator will ever see this, but, on the off chance, please hit back.

Just popping in to say that I’m glad Senator Kerry isn’t rolling over about this.  I’m really heartened that he’s still fighting.  Thanks!

PLEASE - stand your ground, John Kerry.  Don’t apologize, don’t retreat, don’t give an INCH to these lying slandering GOP tools.  They (and the chickenshit coward “Dems” trying to attack you for their own ambitions) are beneath contempt.  You have my full and entire support.  Never retreat, never surrender.

Great post at http://toughenough.org/2006/10/take-two-deep-breaths-and-call-me-in.html:

“Memo to bankrupt republicans: You have so pathetically little of value to show for 6 years in complete control of the U.S. government, that in the last week of the campaign you need to attempt to make the 2006 election a twisted redux of 2004. You can scream as loudly as you want about what word John Kerry left out of a comment he made yesterday, but when all is said and done, you are still out of ideas, out of time, and hopefully soon to be out of office.”

The Democrats are running away from John Kerry as fast as their short little legs can carry them. In the last 12 hours these Democrats have cancelled campaign appearances with Kerry:

- Montana Senate candidate Jon Tester
- Pennsylvania Governor candidate Bob Casy Jr.
- Minnesota Senate candidate Amy Klobuchar
- Minnesota 1st District Congreesman candidate Tim Walz

And Tennesee Senate candidate Harold Ford has called on Kerry to apologize.

This has really angered the Republican base and fired it up, while discouraging the Democrats. It’s a real problem for the Democrats, because the angry left that is the base of the party secretly believes what Kerry said. But they are too cowardly to admit it.

It’s a net plus for the Republicans, and they will continue to throw gasoline on the fire.

Give me a break. 
Republicans are such straw-graspers.
I understood exactly what John Kerry meant.  Everyone knows Kerry has the greatest respect and admiration for our troops in Iraq.  The comment was NOT one of disparagement.
The reaction to the comment - taken out of context, mind you- is actually a bona-fide example of the homogenization, hypocrisey and ignorance that IS the republican party in 2006. 

Judi Morgan, Silver Spring, MD

I am not an extreme leftist by any means, but I am a Democrat through and through. I don’t march for causes that I find meanial and I don’t promote politicians that I don’t believe in. I do, however, believe in John Kerry. Maybe his comments sounded cruel, but we are fighting a cruel war in Iraq right now. I am afraid that we are heading for another Vietnam. And with Sen. Kerry being a vet from that horrific war, maybe he feels the same way. I say keep up the good work Senator. Freedom of Speech is still alive and kicking the the good ole U.S.A.

Senator Kerry needs better writers, or he should cease his lame attempts at humor.

“President Bush used to live in the state of Texas.  Now he lives in the a state of denial.” 

That is supposed to be perceived as wit?  It reminds me of a third grader telling an ancient joke he or she just heard as if it were new.  So proud of his comedic talent, yet unaware of his lack of originality.

I accept that Senator Kerry left the word “us” out of his “joke” and meant to demean President Bush, not the troops.

If President Bush attempted to tell a poorly conceived joke, and forgot to include a word, resulting in a perceived gaffe, Democrats would deride him as an idiot.

Senator Kerry blows a pre-conceived, obviously reheased,  witless joke and in his, and other Democrats’ eyes, he’s a victim.

Dick Cheney is a poor marksman, he made a mistake and shot his hunting buddy.

John Kerry is a poor comedian, he made a mistake and fatally wounded his 2008 Presidential campaign.

It’s a net plus for the Republicans, and they will continue to throw gasoline on the fire.

Posted by Independent Observation | November 1, 2006 2:59 PM
===========================

NOTHING could be a net plus for the Republicans at this point of their death spiral.

Reality: I hope this sticks around for days, so that JK can continue to bash the sh** out of those chicken hawks.  Can’t wait. 

Meanwhile, back at the HackCave, Karl Rove is trying to figure out a way to shift Kerry’s comments to mean that we’re winning in Iraq…

Old Karl really stepped in it this time.

Nice try “Independent Observer”

Posted by Paul | November 1, 2006 2:40 PM

Absolutely Paul. That is what America needs to hear.

It is interesting to see all who beat up Bush.  John Kerry makes a botched joke and it is Bush’s fault.  Kerry- stand up and apologize to the troops.  If you cannot see that you are not perfect, examine closer.  What you said offended the people defending us.  What you said is what came out.  Apologize to the men taking care of us.  If you did not mean to, apologize.  Simple Kindergarten principle.  Let’s not blame the Republicans for your miscommunication.

Ken, while it is true that the military targets the economic underclass, it is in no way what Kerry meant.

I have two middle-class cousins, both very well educated and intelligent, who volunteered for the military.

Also, Kerry was a college graduate who came from a comfortable background and he still volunteered for a war that he wasn’t so sure about.

So please don’t generalize the type of person who would join the military or assume that what Kerry mistakendly said is true.

It’s not, and Kerry knows it. He’s one of the educated who went off and got stuck in a quagmire. He never, ever, meant to say those terrible, untrue words as part of a botched joke about an uneducated president.

Wow. The death toll of US troops in Iraq is 105 for the month of October, 2006. That’s an increasing trend, not a decrease. Iraq is in civil war and our troops are taking orders from a foreign leader.  (Imagine the uproar if the CIC was named Clinton….)

It’s amazing how many people are falling for the Bushies attempt at distracting from what is really going on. But I suspect that in the end, the Bushies will find out most Americans are smarter than the wingers give them credit for.

You neocons know what Kerry meant.  He was talking about the President and his failed policies.

I am the mother of a 2nd Lt who flies out today to be stationed in Baghdad for 18 months.  He was an honor student in college, commander of his ROTC unit, is a Ranger and has chosen to serve his country. He did not end up in the military because he isn’t smart or is lazy.
However the politicians want to spin things to fling mud at each other fine, but do not insinuate that those who serve are somehow lacking in skills to do anything else.
If you mis-speak, correct it. Say what you mean. If John Kerry doesn’t feel he should apologize, perhaps he needs to say what he feels about those who serve in our military.
I don’t care if he has praised them a thousand times. Say it again.
They preserve your right to speak your mind, so get your words straight!

Many of us have been living in a dream word, that if the Dems get in everything will be fine. Bush and Chaney are dispicable cowards, but the hapless Dems are not far behind when it comes to courage. I am ashamed of being a suporter of Democrats. They run scared at the drop of a hat and must bear some responsibility for the necon take over. They cannot even muster the strength to take on the Republicans by defending Senator Kerry.

I haven’t been able to verify yet if Tenent and Ford are swiftboating Senator Kerry today, but if it is true, payback will be hard a swift for these cowards.

As a former combat officer with the 101st in Northern I Corps and purple heart recipient, I am livid with these yellow scumbag democrats as I am furious with the media and Bush.

Another great post by Taylor Marsh:

http://www.taylormarsh.com/archives_view.php?id=24766

Sir,
  Good afternoon Sir, I recently saw a news cast on the comment you made saying that the reason why our service members are in Iraq is because, they can’t hack it in college. As a veteran and a current college student who has honorably served my country, I am shocked and in awe on such a disrespectful comment.  I can’t see how this was meant to humorous. Maybe it would be humorous to the insurgents in Iraq, but not to the mother of the Fallen 18 year old Marine who gave his life defending ours.  Sir your comment lacked taste, leadership, and most importantly the respect and compassion for those who have given the ultimate sacrifice to our nation, our military service members, and veterans.  I just can’t get over that fact, that this tasteless comment is coming from a decorated combat veteran who served his country and knows the significance and sacrifice it takes to wear the U.S. military uniform.  Sir I currently have and have lost friends in combat, and I don’t want to believe that their commitment and sacrifice to our nation was not because they couldn’t get into a respectable college, but because of loyalty, patronage, and unselfishness to our great nation.  Even though I am not a resident of Ma, and my opinion may not count I feel that I have the obligation as a veteran and a citizen to speak in behalf of those who cannot speak in their defense.  I joined the military not because I couldn’t get in to college but because I believe in our great nation, in democracy, freedom, and most of all to secure the freedom of my in this great country.  George W. Bush may not be making the best decisions, but he is human as we all are, of one thing I am certain is that our President the Commander in Chief would never belittle his troops and defenders of our nation.  Sir, I hope that you plan to apologize about your comments, and not use the G.O.P as a scapegoat who you claim are blowing your “joke” out of proportion.  Sir I must remind you that as a Naval Officer, Senator, and American you have a duty to apologize to the men and women in Uniform, what you said was wrong and as a result you have insulted the service members that come from your state, your political party, and most importantly lowered the morale of those in the battle field.

It’s not about Kerry.  It’s about the Republicans attacking the messenger instead of the person who attacks the troops through his own neglegence and the neglegence of his own administration and party.

This is a 24 hour story, but the bigger story is ready to burst out there.

As usual the Republican propaganda machine chooses to shoot the messenger and ignore the message. They choose to insult Sen. Kerry and twist the meaning of his words. Americans are not that ignorant. They know what he meant. What is truly insulting is that it has become so expensive to get a college education that many young people feel that the only way to get one is to join the military for a ” promised ” tuition. Too bad many of them will die before they can take advantage of that promise. Also, where were these ” defenders of the troops ”  in March of 2004 when the President was making a joke about finding WMD’s while looking all around his office and under the furniture ? Now that was truly in bad taste. But they thought it was funny. Maybe George is just a better comedian, or maybe the jokes on us.

Kathy,
Please work hard to gotv in your district. That will help more than anything else.

Posted by THE MARINES, MARINE | November 1, 2006 3:57 PM

That’s not what kerry said, nor is it what he was even talking about.  Time to change the channel and get the whole story before you upset yourself again.

You should look at the transript of the whole text of Kerry’s remarks at Pasadena.  You might notice that it doesn’t mention the troops ONCE.  NOT ONCE.

Then come back and we’ll talk.

Dear Grunt,
I appreciate you being there fighting for us. But I think you should re-examine Kerry’s comments.  First, he was there in the thick of things(Veitnam).  G.W. went to college and when he was done with that, did he join the military to fight in Nam?  The Texas Air National Guard was a nice safe place for him.  And he didn’t even attend that on a regular basis.  I understand Kerry’s comment first hand.  During a conflict like this, parents put their kids in college to keep them from harms way.  Kids go to college in these time, as I did during Veitnam, for the same reason.  I didn’t believe in that war and I don’t believe in this one because I believe it was Premeditated!

As far as an appology from Kerry and/or the rest of the Democratic Party, go back and reread VeitNam Vet’s response.  It’s everything John Kerry himself should have shot back at the GOP.  ‘Nam Vet was dead on that this is another “Swiftboat” and the DNP needs to stand up the the bullies of the GOP.

Posted by Dustin | November 1, 2006 3:30 PM

Okay, well if that is your point of view, can I see the posts and letter to the White House demanding that the Bush, Cheney, Rice, Rumsfailed, Feith, and the rest of them apologize for lying, um, I mean miscommunicating the intelligence on the war to Iraq?

There must be THOUSANDS from you to Bush alone, demanding apologies for a whole host of things, like saying OBGYNS should practice their love on women all over the country, of using the troops as a Thanksgiving prop along with the fake turkey….let’s have them.  I am sure they will make for fascinating reading.

Let’ be clear here:  If you think Kerry should apologize for botching a joke, but Bush gets a pass on botching a war, you have your priorities ass backwards.

Let us remember what blaming troops really looks like: Remember that when they said the insurgency was a result, not of their piss poor planning, but the “spectacular success” of our troops, in other words, because the troops did well, they caused Iraq to be a failure…remember THAT?).  Or how about the multi billion dollar deficit in the VA budget that they knew about but Nicholson (sec. Vet affairs) lied about to Congress?  Or how about no body armor?  Or how about Halliburton KNOWING supplying the troops with contaminated water and the Pentagon giving them MORE contracts and no criminal charges?

Wake up, Dustin.  The real people who should be apologizing aren’t here—they are in a big White House on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Michael Pratt,

Although I respect your right to your opinion, my opinion differs from yours in that I felt that John Kerry was not on the defensive during the ‘04 election.  I strongly felt that he tried as hard as he could to not sling mud, and to be a gentleman throughout the campaign.

I am thankful and proud of John Kerry for standing up to the President and Cheney and Rumsfeld these last two days by saying that they are the ones who owe America an apology for falsely leading this nation to war and being responsible for killing thousands of our nation’s best young women and men, along with tens of thousands of innocent civilians.

Thank you, Senator Kerry!!!!

If they insist on an apology, apologize for a bad joke, then let them have it with your left hook!!!!

New thread:

http://blog.johnkerry.com/2006/11/a_statement_from_john_kerry.html