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Kerry's flipflop

sanjuro

sanjuro

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I would tell the Republicans to stick it. He can't criticize Bush and Iraq? What is afraid, offending his Mass. constituency?

Caught in Furor, Kerry Apologizes for Iraq Remark
By DAVID STOUT

WASHINGTON, Nov. 1 — Senator John Kerry tried this afternoon to put what he called a “poorly stated joke” behind him for good, offering an apology for anything he said on Monday that might have been interpreted as an insult to American troops in Iraq.

“As a combat veteran, I want to make it clear to anyone in uniform and to their loves ones: my poorly stated joke at a rally was not about, and never intended to refer to any troop,” Mr. Kerry said in a statement. “I sincerely regret that my words were misinterpreted to wrongly imply anything negative about those in uniform, and I personally apologize to any service member, family member or American who was offended.”

The Massachusetts Democrat, his party’s standard-bearer in the 2004 presidential race and considered a likely candidate for the nomination in 2008, was trying to get past a furor that erupted after his remarks on Monday at a Democratic rally in Pasadena City, Calif. With the Congressional elections less than a week away, Republicans have pounced on Mr. Kerry’s remarks to try to gain a political advantage.

At the rally, Mr. Kerry 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.”

On Tuesday, the White House and the Republicans asserted that Mr. Kerry had insulted the troops, Mr. Kerry explained 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.”

But Republicans continued to take advantage of Mr. Kerry’s gaffe, as President Bush himself and numerous other Republicans asserted that Mr. Kerry owed America’s military people an apology.

Early on, Mr. Kerry said he would tender no apology to the president, Vice President Dick Cheney or various “right-wing nut jobs” he accused of deliberately distorting his remarks. He seemed furious at any suggestion that he, a decorated Vietnam veteran, would utter a careless antimilitary slur.

But with Republicans continuing to deride him today, and with several Democratic candidates in the midterm elections distancing themselves from him, Mr. Kerry finally apologized this afternoon — without softening his criticism of the Bush administration.

“It is clear the Republican Party would rather talk about anything but their failed security policy,” Mr. Kerry said. “I don’t want my verbal slip to be a diversion from the real issues. I will continue to fight for a change of course to provide real security for our country, and a winning strategy for our troops.”

In lashing back at his critics on Tuesday, Mr. Kerry alluded to the largely unsubstantiated attacks on his military record that hampered his campaign in 2004. His slow response to those attacks was widely viewed as a mistake, one that he seemed determined not to repeat this time.

Whether the current dust-up will hurt Mr. Kerry if he does indeed run for president again will not be known for a while, although he conceded on Tuesday that he may think twice before attempting jokes in public. Mr. Cheney, meanwhile, could not resist his own dart. “He was for the joke before he was against it,” Mr. Cheney said.
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BurlyShirley

BurlyShirley

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Jul 4, 2002
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At the rally, Mr. Kerry 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.”
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hmm...

Is there anything really factually wrong with that statement?
 
H8R

H8R

Cranky Pants
Nov 10, 2004
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BurlyShirley said:
hmm...

Is there anything really factually wrong with that statement?
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It's totally false. All the troops in Iraq are highly educated none of them went there out of desperation or lack of college funds or opportunity.

We have an army of enlightened playboys, everyone know that!
 
BurlyShirley

BurlyShirley

Rex Grossman Will Rise Again
Jul 4, 2002
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Silver said:
You were in the military recently, you tell us...
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Is it any secret that most people join for benefits such as education (GI Bill, etc)? I mean, if you're already educated and ready for a career, why join the military? Sure, the officers have degrees, but most people are enlisted. Technically yeah, by and large, most of them dont have anything but a high school diploma or less.
 
ALEXIS_DH

ALEXIS_DH

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DRB

DRB

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Oct 24, 2002
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This was a huge mistake on the GOPs part. The last thing they wanted to do was nationalize this election. Local candiates are trying to distance themselves from Iraq and Bush and this just brings them back to it.

Kerry is easily dismissed in local elections. Iraq and Bush are NOT.
 
BurlyShirley

BurlyShirley

Rex Grossman Will Rise Again
Jul 4, 2002
19,180
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DRB said:
This was a huge mistake on the GOPs part. The last thing they wanted to do was nationalize this election. Local candiates are trying to distance themselves from Iraq and Bush and this just brings them back to it.

Kerry is easily dismissed in local elections. Iraq and Bush are NOT.
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Word.

I was a bit sad last night when "The Daily Show" slamed the local democratic candidate "Harold Ford Jr" for no real reason tho.
 
dante

dante

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Feb 13, 2004
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BurlyShirley said:
Is it any secret that most people join for benefits such as education (GI Bill, etc)? I mean, if you're already educated and ready for a career, why join the military? Sure, the officers have degrees, but most people are enlisted. Technically yeah, by and large, most of them dont have anything but a high school diploma or less.
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yeah, I was wondering that as well. combine that with the Army's lowering of standards and you have to wonder why the repubs are taking this so hard. what exactly is the percentage of army recruits with HS/GED degrees vs higher education?
 
JohnE

JohnE

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May 13, 2005
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Front Range, dude...
You know the sad thing about all this is all the young kids I deal with who spout GOP crap just because they think it will help them to fit in, or because they are too dumb to know any better. They embody a liberal lifestyle, embrace cross cultural beleifs and styles, yet talk big GOP talk.
Kerry is an idiot, who cant tell a joke, but he did not start the mess that we are in, nor did he run and hide from serving in Viet Nam...unlike our CinC and our VP, who had better things to do in the 60 and early 70s...
 
BurlyShirley

BurlyShirley

Rex Grossman Will Rise Again
Jul 4, 2002
19,180
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JohnE said:
You know the sad thing about all this is all the young kids I deal with who spout GOP crap just because they think it will help them to fit in, or because they are too dumb to know any better. They embody a liberal lifestyle, embrace cross cultural beleifs and styles, yet talk big GOP talk.
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It's alot easier to believe you're doing something "for the greater good" than to admit you're being used like a fool. I know the phenomenon of which you speak and I think it comes from internal leadership. I know most soldiers just want to get wasted and bang as many women as possible, but when it comes down to it, they still want to feel like they're worth a crap.
 
H8R

H8R

Cranky Pants
Nov 10, 2004
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Transcend said:
Yup. Just remember now you can be old, half blind and flatfooted and still join the military If you are gay however, you are screwed. :bonk:
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Gives future draft dodgers a better option than having to flee to (eww) Canada.
 
Transcend

Transcend

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Apr 18, 2002
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H8R said:
Gives future draft dodgers a better option than having to flee to (eww) Canada.
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It just means there will be more of them. Also, we now turn around draft dodgers at the border. Especially the ones who enlist of their own free will, and then cry like babies when they are actually asked to perform the job the signed up for.
 
H8R

H8R

Cranky Pants
Nov 10, 2004
13,959
35
Transcend said:
It just means there will be more of them. Also, we now turn around draft dodgers at the border. Especially the ones who enlist of their own free will, and then cry like babies when they are actually asked to perform the job the signed up for.
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Your missing the point of my ill-conceived joke.

Most Americans would rather be ass pirates than have to go to icky icky Canada.

:bonk: :biggrin:
 
H8R

H8R

Cranky Pants
Nov 10, 2004
13,959
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Transcend said:
Most Americans already ARE ass pirates, so you can see why your joke was misconstrued.
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You better just hope the USA doesn't roll over in it's sleep one night and pork Canada in the caboose.
 
sanjuro

sanjuro

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Transcend

Transcend

My Nuts Are Flat
Apr 18, 2002
18,040
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Towing the party line.
sanjuro said:
The thing about Kerry vs. Bill Clinton is that Clinton is 10 times smarter (Kerry's grades were not much better than Bush's), but Clinton could talk to anyone, probably because of his poor upbringing...
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I have seen bill clinton speak, live, twice. He is damned near hypnotizing and has the entire audience (in one case over 25 000 in a hockey arena) in the palm of his hand. Clinton is probably one of the best public speakers the office of President has ever seen.
 
Transcend

Transcend

My Nuts Are Flat
Apr 18, 2002
18,040
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Towing the party line.
N8 said:
actually Kerry's grades were worse!
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Not possible. If they were worse, he woulda flunked out. In either case, they are both boneheads of monumental proportions. Only Kerry just happens to be stupid. Bush is stupid, a pupet, a whiny bigot AND a liar. He is also quite afraid of actually partaking in any of the activities the men and women he sends off to die. IE: He is a coward.
 
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