Kerry Was Wrong, But Response From Bush, Radio Ranters Was Plenty Wrong, Too

[JABBS]

Click here to read another analysis of the situation. Your comments are welcome.

<snip>

On the eve of an election -- in which Kerry's seat is not in play -- the junior Senator from Massachusetts gave the media, the conservative media and the White House a day to talk about nothing but his stupid comments. He gave the Republicans a chance for one day, and probably more, to talk about something other than the Iraq War, that Osama Bin Laden is still at large, the Mark Foley scandal, or any number of other more pressing issues.

To use sports parlance, you never give your opponent four or five outs in an inning as a result of your mistakes. With the Democrats leading in the 9th inning, Kerry just booted the ball, big-time, and gave the Republicans an extra chance to catch up.

[Brotherjohn]

1. Kerry was wrong about NOTHING!

Instead of "don't study, get us stuck in Iraq" (ha ha, one liner about Bush, badump bump), he says "don't study, get stuck in Iraq".

He flubbed one word and made a decent one liner open to (mis)interpretation as a knock at the troops.

The GOP is desperate and is looking for something, ANYTHING, to latch onto to distract from the issues so that they might regain some momentum heading into the elections. They are sifting through every word out of every Democratic mouth across the country, especially the heavy-hitters like Kerry, Clinton, etc.

No one... NO ONE... could withstand that kind of scrutiny. And what is Kerry, and every other high profile Dem, supposed to do? Stop talking? The week before the election?!

They were going to find something, ANYTHING, to blow up from nothing into something with a week left. It didn't matter who said what, it was going to happen.

Kerry's response yesterday was DEAD ON. "STFU and talk about the ISSUES!"

The darker side of me suggests that this (or whatever they had found to blow up in the last week) is going to be their excuse when they "miraculously" pull out a come from behind (read "fixed") election, surprising everyone.

"Well, the Republicans were destined to lose heading into the final week, then Kerry (or Hilary, or Obama, or fill-in-the-blank) opened their big mouth!"

Not that every media outlet harping on this today is a Rove agent (some undoubtedly are), but with the "liberal" media today, all the WH has to do is pick a non-issue and blow it out of proportion in the last week, and they could turn the election... or provide cover for a fixed election that nobody would believe otherwise.

[JABBS]

2. i disagree

a week to go before the election, Kerry should have known better.

the stakes are too high. there are too many races that are razor thin close. the democrats have to be strong, but they also have to be extra careful about giving the republicans anything that can be used to distract voters, or to supress Democratic turnout.

If the Dems somehow don't get control of the House, blame Kerry.

[Brotherjohn]

He didn't give them anything. They made it up out of thin air.

Even watching the statements as given, it's clear Kerry delivered a one-liner about Bush's intelligence. It's as KO said, they were too stupid to know they were being called stupid.

I would argue it wasn't "stupid", though. They are sifting through anything any high-profile Dem says to distort and blow up into an "issue", especially close to the election, when it will have the most effect. It didn't matter what was said, or who said it. They were going to make a mountain out of a molehill right before the election anyway. It was pre-planned. It's their M.O.

[JABBS]

4. he gave them an excuse

the GOP is on life support for this election cycle. Kerry gave them something to rally behind.

I'm not saying it was intentional. But telling anti-Bush jokes a week before the election, after being Swift Boated in 2004 ... I mean, Kerry might have wanted to think twice about that. Why give the GOP any opportunity to yell and scream?

And this story will resonate more than say, the Harry Reid non-story, because it's current, and the clip of Kerry telling the joke does leave open the possibility of it being anti-troop (even if the longer clip makes it clear Kerry is being anti-Bush).

[seabeyond]

3. kerry stumble over words... that is not a kerry is wrong.

public speakers do not always get it right on or right on delivery. htere is NO kerry wrong. this is allstupid. everyone knows what kerry was saying, he has said it before. the republicans know what he is saying. the media knows what he was saying. you know what kerry was saying. this is the stupidest i have seen yet

bush said this nation was terrorist... we knew it was a misspeak. as many many other times with the man. we never .. no one never asked for apology and no one took it as a fact to say bush was wrong

we laughed at him. wrote a book of all his misspeaks.

but to say kerry is wrong is stupid