The Kerry thing is ridiculous

[Onlooker]

It's clear the Repugs are desperate to alter the dynamics of the election, and to do so they needed a national Democratic figure like Kerry. They launched a coordinated effort to turn Kerry's harmless comment into something it was not. Kerry was simply making a joke and implying that a college education gives people more options. The Repugs did a great job distorting what Kerry said and turning it into an issue. I do not support Kerry's bid to be the Dem nominee, but I also don't think he should be faulted for the way the Repugs exploited what he had to say. After all, the Repugs are the party of liars, deceivers, and manipulators. I think the Dems will succeed in using this issue to attack the mess the Republicans have made in fightin the WOT.

Let's hope the Democrats for a change have a few tricks left in their playbook. You can be sure that the Republicans do.

[Towlie]

1. Is that what he meant?

Is there a consensus about what John Kerry really meant? I've read and heard several versions.

Was he talking about our troops? What was he really trying to say?

[ladym55]

7. In context

Kerry was making a joke about our intrepid president. The idea was that if you take your education seriously, you'll be fine. If you are a lazy dumb-dumb (like our president), you will end up stuck in Iraq. The line came as part of a series of one-liners about how incredibly incompetent our current administration is. If you hear the whole piece (as was played tonight on Countdown), the point of the joke is obvious. It's about the president. The repugs are taking the comment out of context and getting all self-righteous. Check out anything about tonight's Countdown for details.

[Strelnikov_]

10. Exactly. When This Trickles Out Over The Next Few Days

the joke will be on the Reich.

[Bluebear]

8. Yes, there is a consensus. Nobody in the right mind thinks otherwise.

[mitchtv]

2. also ridiculous

the amount of dems buying into the puke distortion. Like that idiot in IA running for congress

[Canuckistanian]

3. Much Ado about Nothing

Shakespeare had it pegged about 406 years ago.

[cigsandcoffee]

4. I blame him for not diffusing it.

He's being incredibly selfish by taking the spotlight to show off his new tough responses to the Swiftboaters, which may win him favor with the base (and help his '08 ambitions), but will possibly turn off the many moderates who prefer a less-charged political dialogue.

A quick apology for the misunderstanding (not what the GOP says he did) would have made him look good, and possibly even had a positive effect on Nov. 7. I think that his reaction has made it a whole lot worse, and was completely contrived for selfish reasons.

People saw the video, and the gaffe was apparent. By not apologizing for that gaffe, he's made himself look petulant, and risks tainting the party with that impression in the middle of a fucking election.

Bad move, John.

[WildEyedLiberal]

9. No - this crap stops now

For the past six YEARS Dems have tucked their tails between their legs and let the rightwing browbeat and bully them into submission. The rightwing creates media shitstorms over NOTHING, wildly twists and distorts comments made by Dems, and then DEMANDS an apology. And for the past six years Dems have been too afraid to CALL THEM ON THIS BULLSHIT and have acquiesced, every time.

No. Fuck this shit. It is a RIGHTWING CREATED controversy and Kerry is right to refuse to play their bullshit game. The game will NEVER stop until MORE Dems have the courage to say "NO. I will NOT apologize for YOUR distortion of my statement."

Until Karl Rove, Dick Cheney, George Bush, etc apologize for implying that Democrats want the terrorists to kill Americans, they have NO ROOM to demand ANYTHING from ANYONE. ENOUGH. Stop playing by THEIR rules.

[cigsandcoffee]

12. Righteous anger is fine, but is not smart politically right now.

If the Democratic leadership thought it would help in these waning days before the election, they'd be out there breathing fire - but they aren't, because they know the GOP has cut their own throats.

The best thing Dems can do is appear calm, strong, and emotionally balanced - leadership qualities that inspire trust. Kerry is not projecting that image, and his angry reactions are designed to boost his trust within the base, but not the voting public at large. I'm sorry, but that's about 2008, and it's a selfish thing for him to do.

[WildEyedLiberal]

15. So when is the right time to stand up for yourself?

Sorry, this has been the same argument for the past 6 years. "Oh, we can't be too controversial now, it'll offend the swing voters!" This was the strategy in 2000, 2002, and 2004 - where did polite decorum get us then? NOWHERE.

Sorry, Kerry's response is exactly how the Dems need to respond to RW bullshit. So was Clinton's response to Chris Wallace. And Dean's response to rightwing crap. And so forth - we have never won by "playing it safe," so why would that start now? People want to know that the Democrats STAND for something, and that's never going to happen until Dems are unafraid to confront RW lies for what they are.

[cigsandcoffee]

20. One can stand up for themselves without coming off...

...as angry and petulant. It was very clear from the video that Kerry made a verbal gaffe that might offend some people. Instead of intelligently explaining that and diffusing it, he became a verbal attack dog, failing to show even the slightest remorse for an admitted error that could be incorrectly construed as offensive by a whole lot of people.

The base is energized - that's undeniable. But swing voters are seeking a change from the angry and divided rhetoric plaguing Washington since this rotten administration came to power. Kerry's words are not offering them the image of the calm, competent, adult, intelligent, and strong leadership that Democrats want to provide.

[DURHAM D]

13. You are missing the point - we don't want it diffused.

The war in Iraq is what we need to talk about for the next week. It is a winner for Dems and a loser for Repubs.

[cigsandcoffee]

14. People were talking about Iraq a lot.

What they weren't talking about was John Kerry. Now the Republicans can run against him again, instead of wallowing in a sea of rotten news that made their failures the center of attention.

Kerry fucked up. And now he's taking the opportunity to boost his favor with the base for 2008 - quite possibly at the risk of turning off a notable percentage of swing voters who are aching for balanced and intelligent leadership far more than a political gang war.

He could have diffused it, or even helped the effort by calmly apologizing for his mistake, explaining the Republican distortion, and then nailing them on the situation in Iraq. Instead, it's all about Kerry's new tough guy attitude for taking on the Swiftboaters during the next primary cycle.

[JCMach1]

18. I agree, apologized for the bad gaffe and move on... instead, he attacked

his attackers...

It doesn't erase the error.

[cigsandcoffee]

22. Thank you. That's the very point.

Voters who are tired of the bickering bullshit were undoubtledly looking past the angry rhetoric from both sides to see if Kerry would do the honorable thing and apologize for a gaffe that seemed offensive. They were left dissapointed, and that could rub off on the whole party. Had he played his cards right, a calm and intelligent response would have bolstered the voters trust in Democrats to bail us out of the mess the GOP got us in to.

[The Straight Story]

5. Skull and Bones made him do it :) (nt)

[BlooInBloo]

6. Yah, but then so is the American public. That's the nub of the problem....

... Americans aren't, by and large, smart enough to see that this is an idiotic "issue".

[Wednesdays]

11. Maybe, but there are probably tons of blogs

like this one:

http://darthgouki.deviantart.com/journal/10574952/#journal

[JCMach1]

16. This was a horrible gaffe... he needes to apologize, not equivocate

same old Kerry

[WildEyedLiberal]

17. "Equivocate"?

Did you read his statements today?

Obviously not, because no one who understands the English language could call that "equivocation."

[DaveJ]

19. Agreed... Kerry is a genious....

This will NOT motivate Republican voters, and this will NOT discourage Democrat voters, period. Call me crazy but Kerry could have won in 2004 if he'd wanted but he did not want to get involved in Bush's mess. What he is doing now is setting the focus on failures in Iraq. He is paving progress by calling attention to the social inequities of our military. Democrats have to learn to speak up.

Dammit... one guy says something that EVERYONE KNOWS IS TRUE and all of a sudden the DU thinks the world is coming to an end. Get used to it -- this is the progress we are going to see for at least the next 12 years as Democrats take control.

(edited for spelling)

[treestar]

21. It is ridiculous. Kerry was in the military himself. He can say

whatever he wants about it. Only an idiot would go out of their way to be insulted by that slip of the tongue. If you're tough enough to go into a war zone that wouldn't even hit your radar.

[brentspeak]

23. Needless to say, the Repubs are masters at manufacturing phony controversies

The very fact that MSNBC/MSN posted a poll asking the question: "Were Sen. John Kerry's remarks linking education to the war in Iraq appropriate?" shows how well Rove and Mehlman can gain the upper hand in deciding which "issues" take center stage.