If this indeed spells the end of this Bozo's presidential hopes, then Democrats should celebrate!

He ain't exactly the swiftest boat on the river.

Give em hell Johnny.Tell McCain to go Cheney himself.I'm starting to think Rove was correct in calling McCain a nutjob!

Don't mind the mindless posters here like Weeping Willie,Little Johnny and my pet goat Juanbito,they all voted for Alan Keyes over our next Prez,THE ROCK OBAMA.

Quit playing to the Republican noise machine. If anybody owes US troops an apology
it's George W. Bush who sent them to Iraq. He's the dunce who didn't study, who's never been in combat and blithely sent them off to war and put up a mission accomplished banner at the beginning of an insurgency.

Your desire to have a story, to make a horse race out of this comment is disgusting.

As a Viet Nam Marine Corps veteran, I read with interest the feigned outrage of W Bush patriots, y'know the kind of guys like Georgie, who supported the war in Viet Nam but spent their service time in bars around the Texas Air National Guard Base. Real hot bed there. George W taunts the Iraq resistance with Bring It On, that was after he said Mission Accomplished. John Kerry may have mis-spoke, maybe not, but he is a veteran, the real kind, and he and anyone else who served can speak there mind too. Cheney, Mr Bergen, had 7 deferments from active service. Congressman Kirk is Officer in the US Navy Reserve. If he supports the war so much, why has he not volunteered to go to Iraq or Afghanistan? W Bush patriots, sunshine patriots!

Oil Slick Dick has much better camoflauge: "For me - it's a no-brainer."

By the Numbers

Cost of Violence in Iraq
Number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq 2,814
Number of US troops wouned 21,419
Number of Wounded unable to return to duty 10,789
Number of troops killed this month 103
Cost to you and me in programs and budgets
Iraq war $350 billion
per month about $8 billion.

Number of troops now in Iraq including my family
144,000 how many time redepolyed three to four

How many Combat ready brigades to protect the homeland 0

WHY ARE WE THERE LIES
Are we fighting terrorist there no Iraqi's
Are we going to have to fight them here NO because they are Iraqi's not bin'Ladens people

How many here defend those numbers very few 60 percent of America want us to leave Iraq. THESE ARE THE NUMBERS how many of you have family there or served.

Well that settles it, I'm not voting for John Kerry this coming Tuesday!

Oh wait a minute...

I thought I was supposed to vote for the individuals on the ticket, not for a party. I thought I was supposed to listen to all the campaign rhetoric and make a logical decision based on the issues at hand. I thought the country was heading in the wrong direction, but now that I've heard Kerry, we must be going in the right direction!
I thought Republicans were dealing with quite a few scandals of late, but now that I've listened to Kerry I think I will ignore all of them.
I thought all the honorable dead soldiers in Iraq were making me doubt the wisdom of our current course, and the lack of direction coming from either party was disturbing, but now that I've heard Kerry I think I will just follow Bush because he is suddenly much wiser.

America, John Kerry is a bungler, therefore I think we should stay the course after all! After hearing Kerry speak I decided that all Dems are bunglers, because in America you are only allowed to vote for one party, not one candidate.
I think every Dem should now resign, and just hand the reigns over the Bushies, they never misspeak (and they never said stay the course).

I think I have thought a lot about what this election means and John Kerry does not even register on my radar. Soldiers dying in Iraq still register. Deficits register. Veterans benefits register. My child’s college expenses register.

How John Kerry sounding dumb would make Dubya look bright is beyond me. If one comment, one week before an election, was enough to make me change my mind after the amount of time I have spent looking at the issues, then shame on me and shame on any American who lets any of these one-liners change their mind.

I'm not voting for Kerry. I am voting for Duckworth. I am not voting for Kerry, I am voting for Hastert (shock! two parties! How Un-American!)

If you do NOT like the direction this country is heading, vote. Bring a friend.
AND DONT VOTE FOR KERRY!

I can't believe with all the mistatements that George Bush makes on a daily basis that the press is going after Kerry for flubbing a joke. Guess you wanted a distraction from the civil war in Iraq while we're still occupying their country.

Oh, by the way, guess who had the lower "C" average at Yale:

http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/1421232/posts

Even if he misspoke as he now has changed his new and nuanced defense, why not accept responsibility. Instead he states all who did not immediately understand what he meant to say instead of what he actually said are "crazy". I guess by those "crazy" folk he is attacking now are the national leaders of Amvets and the American Legion who have called for an apology for his actual statement.

Frank, now you're just baiting us. Because you didn't get enough attention with your first opinion piece on this subject?

Bush, Cheney, and Rove owe this country and the world an apology for using 9/11 to justify the invasion of Iraq and for continuing to lump the war on terrorism with the occupation of Iraq. They need to apologize to us for failing to adequately address the real nuclear threats that North Korea and Iran pose to us. They have used scare tactics to advance a radical right wing agenda that is endangering us all.

This is all they got?

Happy days are here again!

What Kerry should have said is this:
I understand alot of people are upset at my remarks yesterday. I want to make sure the American people witness my flip-flopping this whole issue back in their face.

Thank you and please support elite snobs like me who did not get stuck in Iraq, because I'm so much smarter than the rest of you.

Sincerely,
John "Flip-flop" Kerry

Kerry digging his own grave politically does not in any way negate the fact that G.W. Bush used neo-conservative ideology as a shovel to dig the graves of almost three thousand soldiers.
Forget about what Kerry said.
I want to hear what Bush has to say.
As of late I've heard ZERO.

We need this fronting the web site. Don't talk about the fact that Iraq's president/leader/whatever has forced us to remove checkpoints in Iraq. Those checkpoints were put in place to attempt to find a kidnapped soldier. So in effect the leader of Iraq has shut down the search.

Wouldn't be great if Kerry said "those words coming out of my mouth on that video weren't actually my words." This is classic and will submarine the dems, particularly the "war" candidates like Tammy Duckworth, unless, of course, if they condemn Kerry and his demeaning remarks about our soldiers. Thank you, John Kerry! The man is like manna from heaven.

Flubbing a joke? You leftist sheep actually buy that? Watch the video, he doesn't stammer once. Everyone whose ever slept through one of his self-congratulatory speeches knows that Kerry is an excellent public speaker.

I've finally figured out what the "swiftboating" the left complains about so much is. It's playing back John Kerry's own words so the nation can hear how stupid they are.

Dale Peters,,Number of wounded in United States

People who were not soldiers, People going to work, planning on returning home to their families. A friend of my son's first day of work at the Trade Towers, only 21 years old. He had lived in New York just two weeks. There were 3000 innocents. You might want to count the Marines in Lebanon, The Cole incident, the African embassies etc etc. The men and women who have died in Iraq are professional warriors. We are lucky to have them.

The lesson tonight is, Learn Your Lines: Especially when you are a politician and your punchline contains the word "Iraq."

Speaking of offensive, remember when Bush joked about looking for WMDs in the Oval Office? That made me barf.

I love how the defense is now "if you can't tell the difference between what I actually said and what I MEANT to say, then you're crazy."

I can't imagine how this idiot never became president. I hope the military families of Massachusetts remember this despicable event whenever Kerry's up for reelection.

Hmmmmm...
"Soldiers are just cowards with their backs against the wall. The lowest IQ men in our society, those incapable of normal careers enlist. Their choice in life; prison or the military. Some will have to die in the support of our cause."

Ann Coulter - Intervention Magazine, 11/06/03

Every time I think THESE Republican Leaders cannot POSSIBLY be more disingenuous and hypocritical, they prove me wrong.

If this is the best Republicans have got, one botched joke, then they are in trouble.

Sen. John Kerry is a disgrace to humanity. He is an elitist having little regard from his perch atop his wife's money for "common uneducated folk".

I believe he should run for president in 2008 so the country can see what a real fool looks like!

Just wandering if you dummies have ever thought that maybe if the dumocrats didn't just insult and critique, maybe things would be different in Iraq and in America. By the way, have fun freezing this winter Chicago. The way your city votes, you deserve it.

I too am a Vietnam Veteran and I just want to point out that Kerry has the right to blast the guys who stole the white house from him. His time in country supports that. Why do the chicken hawks in the white house feel that they have to defend our troops in Iraq from remarks by Kerry. Their protests are as transparent as they are -They are both running out of time for this election and they will do anything to deflect criticism about the mess that they got us into.
I think our troops would defend themselves if they had as much time on their hands as those folks in Draft Dodger Central.

Being ridiculed for flubbing a line by the man that wants to put food on people's families must really sting.

Juanito, I laughed out loud at the "swiftest boat on the river" comment. God, I hope this fool keeps releasing non-apology apologies up until the election.

This is not going to make any difference in the next election. Yes, Kerry made a huge goof and even though he is trying to talk his way out of this (I believe the real elitist John Kerry spoke yesterday), so what. Bush has dug a hole too deep, and people are not going to change their vote because "Mr. Hairspray" makes a fool of himself again.

Shoot, Illinois is about to re-elect a governor that may be a bigger crook than Ryan. Enough folks like him because he is giving away money to them that the state doesn't have. Doesn't matter; he is a Democrat and he is in.

Happy days ahead indeed.....

You are all very shrill. And dull in the extreme. Does anyone want to write about something that matters?

Anyone? Anyone... ZZZzzzzzzzzzzzz...

What a dunce (no not W, but Kerry). I mean this guy should just do an Al Gore and disappear. The loser lost the election and is still bitter and partisian. What a nut case.

I can't believe that one mans foul up with choice of words can sway the American people to believe that Republicans should be in charge. One mans words are far less damaging then one mans decision to take us to War. The Presidents decision has him with hands full of blood. He will do what ever he can to cover his hands up as long all those that are trying to run with this story. Take it for what it is and watch the entire video before making your decision.

For those of you who believe that Kerrys foul up is far worst the President George W. Bush's decision to take us to War when they had no WMD'S then be blind and vote to support him. For those Republicans that can see things for what it they are and vote for a change please do so. Your far more intelligent then our President. Come to think of it..who with a C+ average isn't.

This is why democrats will not tsunami - you don't get it:

"Hi Jonah;

That s.o.b. Kerry should have been there with us during the ring ceremony for our daughter’s class at West Point (2004). We bowed our heads, and most of the moms were crying and silently praying “Dear God, please not my son!” as they read the role of the graduates who had already fallen in the War on Terror. Every week or so we get an e-mail of another of the long grey line who “gave his last full measure of devotion.” Kerry must pay for THIS remark with his career. By the way, our daughter was valedictorian of her high school class and is to be shipped to Afghanistan in the beginning of December – her first Christmas away from home. I’m trying very hard not to use foul language here in case you should post this, but my blood is on fire and it is a hard struggle.

Best regrads,
David Churchill Barrow"

Found at http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZWE0ZGM2ZTY3YmRhYzc4NjRjZjE5ZWVlNWQ4MWQzOWY=

In a word - decency.

Jeeze, John put a sock in it will ya!
This guy is still mired in the Viet Nam war
where the college pukes stayed home, got laid and went on to make a bunch of money....
This is an All Volunteer Military John....even the National Guard - who are really getting screwed. So, please this is tough enough as it is...go home shoot a goose.

Thanks, Mr. Kerry.

Having seen the video, I agree that Kerry meant his sophomoric , elitist crack at the republicans and at Bush. its just that people are sick of Kerry always acting as if he is the smartest guy in the room, when usually he's one of the dumbest. So let him twist slowly in the wind o9f ghis own making.

I am certainly not going to defend Kerry since I don't have a high opinion of politicians of either party. I would like to know, however, how you treated the conservative wet dream, Rush Limbaugh, when he came up with a much, much, much more egregious and tasteless comment about Fox and his health problems. Did you suggest to him as you did to Kerry that he apologize to Fox or did you give him an A+ for his comment or did you even comment about it at all? I wonder.

For a guy who is an Ivy leaguer, this guy is a moron. Does he ever think before he speaks. The Dems are in the best possible position they could ever hope for but they just keep on beating themselves.

To say that a distinguished American Veteran would purposely deride his brothers in arms, is rediculously immature. Something along the line of what georgie might do. I don't buy it, especially when the criticism is coming from a draft dodger. I (I purposely didn't capitalize his name.)

raving:

You shouldn't call McCain a nut job, regardless of what you think of his politics, him and countless vets paid a price that you and I will never be able to comprehend.
The sacrifices of people like Evrett Alvarez, James Stockdale,John McCain and Max Cleland are truly humbling and we owe them nothing but respect. It is because of their sacrifices we are able to disagree. McCain is not a nut job!

How anyone could vote for any Democrat is amazing!!!! ???? Their all the same - STRANGE !!

Kerry stepped in it and now he's cleaning off his shoes on Howard Dean's carpet. Good on you Ketchup Boy! Funny, I haven't seen Howie defend your incendiary remarks yet? I'm guessing Dr. Dean is wishing you would just STFU and go away until after Nov 7th, but who knows?

Please go back and read all of Lurch's speeches from the last couple weeks. The same tired jingoisms over and over again. He's dumbed-down his remarks into series of trite little sound bites for trick-or-treating yellow dog Dems. But this Halloween, its all trick and no treat. The Great Pumpkin has spoken, and the GOP is thankful.

John Kerry is dishonest, ego-driven, and I consider him and most of the Dems, enemies of the United States. All one has to do is read Al-Jazeera, listen to the words of Osama Bin Laden, and the rest of our enemies to know that the Democrats are emboldening them. The Dem's rhetoric is being used by our enemies every day. The political rhetoric spouted by the Dems IS harming our troops and emboldening the terrorists in Iraq.

If a terrorist could vote in our elections, they'd vote for the Democrats. No doubt about it. If that doesn't give some of you a reality check, then you're a lost cause.

Also, I'm shocked and saddened to know how many of my fellow Americans have fallen hook, line and sinker for the Democratic talking points that are nothing but lies, compounded by more lies and distortions. I'm also appalled at how many Americans are so ignorant that they don't know why we are in Iraq. The MSM and the Dems (when they decided to flip/flop) convinced the ignorant masses that the war was all about WMD, or that it was in retaliation for 9/11, yata yata yata. The President never said that, but the MSM did. Yes, Saddam had WMD's, and we haven't found them yet, but every Republican AND Democrat are on the record saying that Saddam was a grave threat, that he has WMD's, and they voted to have him removed from power if he did not finally comply with the UN Resolutions.

For those who still have an ounce of sense, understand once and for all that this war came about because of Saddam's NON-COMPLIANCE WITH THE UN RESOLUTIONS THAT ENDED THE FIRST GULF WAR, DESERT STORM!!! Innocent Kuwaitis, our own military men and women, and those of our allies, laid down their lives to save Kuwait from Saddam. The only reason that madman was allowed to return to Iraq and remain in power was that Saddam AGREED to the UN RESOLUTIONS. Was their blood shed for nothing?? Justice was served to Saddam on a platter endorsed by Republicans and Democrats alike, by the UN, and by our allies.

Our son fought in Iraq. He believed in and supported the mission they were given. So did his fellow soldiers. He personally experienced the gratitude and thankfulness of the Iraqi people. Tell John Kerry that he has seriously underestimated the intelligence of our military men and women. They are smart enough to recognize a traitor and a liar. They're also smart enough to know what party wasn't going to accept the ballots of our overseas military servicemembers in the last Presidential election.

Most troops do NOT support the Dems. To support them is like giving the enemy they face, the ammunition to do them grave harm.

I think I know exactly what John Kerry was eluding too. The make up of the US Military involves people trying to get out of poverty in many cases. During Vietnam we had the draft and although some used their influence to get out of war, the soldiers there reflected more the make up of society in the 60's, a broader spectrum of all class levels. Today this is not the case, and I think that is what he was referring to. Bush got into the war for his own personal agenda and unlike Bush most soldiers can't get out of service, they do it to pay for an education to better their lives, it is just sad in many cases in Iraq that means their lives, their healthy bodies and their healthy minds are the cost for that eventual benefit...

If Bush had made these remarks, Im certain they would not be brushed aside. Yes, it was a mistake. But Kerry makes a bigger mistake saying that he wont apologize. I let the door swing in someones face today. I apologized. It was a mistake. Kerry is exposing himself as a dope. John--how about this."I was an idiot. I messed the joke up. It was supposed to be....... You know what if this is the only thing they can talk about, then I guess we know how lame they are." But for all of you bloggers out there who smash Bush--I have a feeling you'd be soooo on top of him if he made the same remarks? Right?

What a moron. Oops .... I forgot he's a "war hero," with FOUR months of brutal combat in Southeast Asia. Still, he's a moron.

For Kerry to say what he said is inexcusable...and it WAS clear what he said. He didn't flub a joke, OR misquote something which was written for him. He was trying to scare the high school crowd into studying, otherwise they'd have no choice but to join the armed forces and "end up in Iraq." That IS what he said. If you haven't seen the video, find it, watch it, and then try to convince anybody he meant anything else. Days from now, we'll likely find out Mr. Wade, Kerry's Communications Director, was spewing a company line for his boss.

Kerry is a disgrace...to Democrats, to Republicans, to Soldiers, and to Americans. To hear Kerry tell it, our armed forces must be full of misfits, morons, and truants. Clearly Senator Kerry, and perhaps his party, hold a clouded view of those who serve in the military. The man does NOT deserve to call himself a veteran. The sooner this guy talks himself into oblivion, the better off we'll all be.

It's quite obvious whom Kerry was really talking about as long as you check the context. Now
the right-wing attacking machine tries to distort and distract, and think they get
the momentum, fine, let's throw the gloves.

Kerry is well within his right to fire back at this kind of mis-characterization. It's the same old song and dance with Bush: if someone poses a legitimate critique, he can only respond with straw man attacks since he has no other legs to stand on.

I also think it's sad to see this kind of journalistic hyperbole and over-dramatization make it into the Tribune. Not only is the writing sophomoric, but the blind right-wing zealotry is poorly veiled. The truth is being warped and stretched for all it's worth, but we all know what Kerry meant. This is just the cheap and easy mudslinging story that *every* other Republican blogger has already written.

How about something with a little more merit and substance next time?

It should be pretty clear by now how Kerry feels about the US military and its troops. He considers them "rapists", "murderers", "terrorists" and now dummies.

No Class Kerry ... ("I voted for the war before I voted against it") Kerry never was and never will be Presidential material. How dare he disrespect our troops!

For the record - cbs.com
(Kerry - Whichever Way The Wind Blows)
In May 2003, at the first Democratic primary debate, John Kerry said his vote authorizing the president to use force was the “right decision” though he would have “preferred if we had given diplomacy a greater opportunity.”

But then in January 2004, Kerry began to run as anti-war candidate, saying, "I don't believe the president took us to war as he should have."

Perhaps it's time to go work for the wife at the Heinz Co.

I wish you'd pay this much attention to all the mis-speakng our mis-speaker in cheif has done the last six years.

Also there is a lot of truth in the fact that kids who can't get into college any other way go into the miltary and kids who can't find a job either because they lack skills or opportunity go into the military. It's just the truth.

As far as I know, John Kerry isn't running for office and he does not head the Democratic party. The fact that he cannot tell a joke does not absolve Congress from its failure to provide oversight.

John Kerry may be a poor comic, but at least he didn't diddle a page and blame alcohol and a dying priest.

So, it's true.

The Chicago Tribune is a bunch of right wing hacks who can destroy fine papers like the LA Times by dragging it down to their level.

Keep kissing Bush's butt.

Once again the media got it wrong because they didn't bother to cover the full story; Kerry's comments were taken out of context.

Kerry's remarks were not about the SOLDIERS they were about BUSH. He explained today that what he was trying to say was that Bush had not educated himself enough about Iraq or military strategy or you name it.(remember Bush didn't know there were Shiites and Sunnis in Iraq until six weeks before war he declared war). And so we ended up in this mess of a war in Iraq.

Kerry is a buffoon. And he's proved once again why he didn't win in 2004 and why he needn't bother running in 2008. He suffers from terminal foot-in-mouth disease and has NO CLUE what to do when he screws up. The correct and appropriate response in this case would have been first to apologize and then shut the hell up for a good, long time.

"plenty smart"

Everyone in this country deserves an apology for this atrocious use of the English languare, in addition to everything else this administration has erred on.

John Kerry had his chance in 2004 and didn't even lead to contest the questionable results in Ohio. Great qualifications for a "leader." Now he appears to be attempting to position himself as a possible candidate in 2008.

PLEASE do this country a favor, John--shut up and give someone else a chance. If you can't stay out of the limelight and are that drawn to power, become a lobbyist.

JUST GO AWAY ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks". John Kerry meant what he said. His babblings are so reminiscent of the Vietnam days. I remember it all so well. Like much of the Democratic Party, Kerry is still fighting the "establishment" and hasn't yet figure out that he is now part of it. How disgraceful and irresponsible. That is why I proudly am no longer a Democrat!

Hooray for John Kerry fighting bac. The republican machine will distort any opinion that is against theirs. They are the ones that owe this country an apology for the live lost in this immoral war. they are so quick at throwing out lies to destroy anyone who does not support their positions. It is time for a change!!!!

As a Viet Nam Marine veteran I take issue with my fellow Marine veteran, Richard Zaccone's posting. He referred to John Kerry as a real veteran. Technically he is correct but realistically we know it was a resume builder for him. I know and I'm sure Marine Zaccone knows of fellow Marine who were too embarrassed to seek a purple heart for a scratch on the hand. His three purple hearts in Viet Nam within six months is like hitting the power ball lottery twice.

Kerry didn't misspeak, he got caught and now he is trying to do his usual shuffle.

John Kerry did not win the presidential election when he struggled for it because he wasn't, and isn't, the quality required for the august job. Why anyone now cares what he passionately says is beyond me.

With over 2800 American troops dead and greater than 30,000 wounded, the smart and patriotic folks in the services are dying out in staggering numbers. Who will be aggressively recruited to replace them? Not rich people. People who are struggling to get by.

He's not belittling the troops. He's belittling the situation that young Americans are facing today. He's saying "Do well, or you may find your only option is to jump into Bush's blood-blender if you ever intend to support a family."

Dale Peters,
Thank you for reminding us of the reality of what this administration has wrongfully got us into. Thank you for reminding us of the number of families who are suffering due to Weapons of Mass Destruction that didn't exist. Thank you for reminding us of the cost of the war, the cost of misappropriation of no bid contracts in Iraq.
Pmiller

Come on now, is it really such a shocker that many people who join the military do so because they are poor, uneducated and don't have a whole lot of options? It is just common sense. I don't see anything wrong with what he said. No one is attacking the troops. Its just stating facts.

Jesus, who's being political correct here? This is like getting outraged because someone says the middle class is getting screweed economically right now. Oh gosh my! Who would dare say such a thing. Class warfare!!!!! I just find it funny all of the double-speak, wink-wink-nudge-nudge, feigned authenticity that goes on in this country. And when someone actually says whats on their mind, and basically says the emperor is not wearing clothes (or is an idiot, or whatever) people pretend to be outraged. Its just so transparent.

Bush enthusiasts will interpret John Kerry's remarks in any way they can to nourish their prejudices.

If John Kerry was in fact suggesting that those who do not excell in their educational persuits are more likely to end up in the military, he was correct. In other words, he was telling the truth.

The truth is something to which the US population isn't accustomed since Bush took office.

It seems lying to the electorate maybe THE way to win US elections.

This technique has always worked for me. In the course of an argument you wait til your opponent mis-speaks once and then just hammer on it repeatedly. Its truly a mark of genious and I hope all our political conversations can strive to this level of repartee. It's obvious that John Kerry thinks that all soldiers in Iraq are idiots. Voting down party lines is the only way we can ensure that soldier haters don't get elected. I bet he doesn't even have a magnetic "Support the Troops" sticker. Good riddance!

So what was Kerry actually saying? That is the question. I agree that he didn't mean to disparrage the troops. However, is he saying that President Bush is not an intellegent individual? That President Bush hasn't had to work for anything to get where he is at? Is that what the person who lost to President Bush 2 years ago is saying? Is that what the person who constantly puts his foot in his mouth is saying? I shudder to think where we would be now had this loose lips "diplomacy first" person won the election.

Frank James, you're an idiot and a moron. You're just part of the fascist noise machine that defames Democrats and twists their words out of context. Burn in hell, you right-wing lying pig.

Sad BUT TRUE

Rapists enlist. Just look at the platoon on death row for raping and murdering an entire family. Or what about the ones that took the old grandpa out into the desert and shot him full of holes while he was standing in a ditch? Or Lyndie? Yep we got some bright minds here.

If not for the MONEY and BENEFITS--

WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND would enlist to get shot at while looking for WMD in IRAQ??

Kerry's right. Don't kid yourselves. He's a flip flopper who says inexplicable things but sometimes he strikes gold and this is it.

If what Kerry said was a "Joke". Then it's a very sick joke.
I heard what he said, don't treat me as being stupid and uneducated as he did not mince words and no one laughed, it was no joke.
They are words from a self proclaimed war hero that is the biggest liar that came out of VietNam. He did'nt mince words when he claimed that all of us VietNam Vets were rapists,murders that tortured innocent civilians. When the truth is that he must have been the only one in his unit that committed atrocities as no one that was there with him can recall such an event.
He is a LIAR and a very sick person.

Attention all true-beleivers, hired Republican hacks and bloggers. This election isn't about what John Kerry did or didn't mean. It's about the direction this country is headed.If you want to support an administration that that doesn't mind stealing from the "lock-box" that is Social Security to fund tax breaks to the rich. If you think state "pork" is more important than the overall welfare of the county. If you don't mind dirty air, dirty water, dirty wars and dirty politics, vote Republican. But if I hear one more person say "Well I was on the fence, but after Kerry's "despicable" comments I've just got to stay with the morally superior GOP (Grand Old Pediphiles), I'll just puke in my soup.

I see Kerry's joke as: see what a C-average student who serves as President can do to a country...! While you are in school, study hard and try to make the best of it.

Ah, GOP propaganda in the Trib. THERE'S a surprise.

According to the headline on the main page, Kerry "dug himself a deeper hole." What does that mean? The Dems are in good shape here.

Kerry obviously mispoke. Stop being a corporate suck-up to the right wing. You can't spin 2800 dead soldiers, who died for a lie.

When do Americans get the real message...????

The democrats win and they become the new friends of the bad guys and iran gets another notch on their guns and walk away with Iraq....

obviously they will sell out Israel....they are too small potatoes to defend.....

I am 75 years old and am ashamed at where our country is right now.....I won't be alive when these people take over the world...

We Americans are so caught up in PEACE that we do not recognize when our very existance is being threatened...

WAKE UP AMERICA.......HOW CAN YOU LET THIS JERK HAVE ANY INFLUENCE ON YOU???

JUST GETTING ELECTED IS NOT WORTH SELLING YOUR COUNTRY OUT.....

You are only 24 years old... There are 3 platoons of 26 men each and one of those platoons you command. You have to control a 30 square mile area 24 hours a day. You are under constant attack... mortars, rockets, machine gun fire, RPGs, road side bombs, snipers... Some of your men are hurt... some of your vehicles are broken... you have 1 interpreter which replaced your last interpreter who had his leg blown off and another interpreter who had his head cut off... resources and supplies are limited... the battalion on your flank has suffered more than %50 casualties... in support, your men are responding to sporadic firefights all over the city.... You have to sustain this fight for 365 days... the political machine limits your ability to occupy the area with force... you are told to win hearts and minds... use the rules of engagement... they give you soccer balls instead of bullets... the world media and the Monday Morning Quarterbacks are scrutinizing your every move... they question the use of force... they question how many men it takes to win a piece of ground... Yet no reporter or person ever asks you what it will take to win the fight... no one ever asks the leader on the front what it takes or what it all means... Every day you listen to the loud speakers above the mosque... "Kill the Americans, drive the Christian Crusaders from our land." In the mean time, rich religious leaders from all over the Middle East, who want nothing more but to see Democracy fail, are paying young jobless youth thousands of dollars each day to attack you... more money then their families could make in a lifetime. How do you do it? How do you sustain this fight? Well, I assure you... there are only two types of people in this Wild West... the quick and the dead. If your quick, your smart, and if your smart you will live to fight another day. ...This was my experience as an Army Officer in Al Anbar and Ramadi.... Your own intelligence and the intelligence of your men is the only resource that a young leader can count on to be at his disposal every day.

When do Americans get the real message...????

The democrats win and they become the new friends of the bad guys and iran gets another notch on their guns and walk away with Iraq....

obviously they will sell out Israel....they are too small potatoes to defend.....

I am 75 years old and am ashamed at where our country is right now.....I won't be alive when these people take over the world...

We Americans are so caught up in PEACE that we do not recognize when our very existance is being threatened...

WAKE UP AMERICA.......HOW CAN YOU LET THIS JERK HAVE ANY INFLUENCE ON YOU???

JUST GETTING ELECTED IS NOT WORTH SELLING YOUR COUNTRY OUT.....

I never trust someone who doesn't take responsibility for their actions or statements. I've watched the democratic party slide since the first Kennedy assasination. They stopped taking responsibility, and have led their constituents to do the same. Kerry is a bad straight man at best. And if you can find a good clip of what he actually said, (which is pretty tough because the mess-NBC's of the world post the video, but it doesn't play, they only let you see Kerry's rebuttal) It's pretty obvious he was talking about education to students, denigrating both students with lower scholastic achievement levels and the miliatry. I am sooooo glad this fellow isn't our President right now. And do you notice, for all of his "failed policy" rhetoric, he and his fellow dems haven't proposed any viable alternatives, oh, except of course, cut and run and give our enemies a timetable for when.

WHAT A JOKE !

That the media has the power to turn this into a controversy is the scary part. Happy Halloween!

If you watched the Kerry comment in context you'll notice the loud throng of laughter directly after he made it, it seems many clearly felt this joke was hardly botched.

Let's not forget the largest global protests in the history of manking occurred shortly before this war started for precisely the reasons we have seen come to pass. Thousands of innocent lives lost (educated or not), billions of diverted funds, civil violence erupting etc.

What is botched is the country's imbecilic tendency to act like children in a sandbox and start pointing fingers the second "Johnny made a joke I didn't like, whaaa!

Come on people. Let's keep on topic: The violent loss of life of many innocent woman and children lifelessly rubbed out in the name of terror, and how we are going to solve one of the most pressing of human problems.

Whenever I hear the term "The War On... (insert nefarious noun or verb here)"... I immediately know I'm listening to the facile drama surrounding the deeper issues.

Yep I think Ann nailed it. Kerry messed up one way or another but was it enough for the Republicans to hold press conferences? Are they really that cynical to believe he doesn't have enormous respect for those who serve our country like he did?

No I don't think they really do. I do believe they are that desperate. Desperate enough to make others think that Kerry and all who may align with him and his ideas, the Democants, aren't as honorable or patriotic as those brave draft dodging chicken hawk Repugnorants and their big/narrow tent of superior values.

I'm a Desert Storm vet and also an Independent voter. I still believe this Is the best country in the world but little crap like this starts to add up to a big steaming pile and its tearing our country down! Having different views on how to run the nation is great for democracy but these
constant personal attacks and all the infighting between our only two parties is destructive to the publics faith that ANY of them can get ANY thing done! I want another option!

I am moving away from party affiliations and focusing more and more on the individual candidates. What Kerry said does not represent the Democratic party. The whole US Congress shoud apologize to the people for not being for the people but for themselves. Kerry, because of his stupid comments, will suffer, as he should. I'd encourage everyone to start looking at individual candidates, their individual accomplishments and individual performances and records and support only those that meet your expectations. Only then will we get away from this rediculous bickering and time wasting figure pointing. Demand individual accountability and vote for those that meet it. Free speech is a wonderful freedom and helps me to better choose my candidates.

In 40, 50 years, when the Mexican/Muslim war over control of America is in full bloom, "remember G-dubbya" will be the resistance militia's rally call. And uppity idiots like Kerry and Kennedy will assume of history.

TO RICHARD Z..CORRECT ON SOME OF YOUR COMMENTS RICHARD..BUT--KERRY ONLY SPENT A FEW MONTHS IN NAM..HE WROTE UP HIS OWN ORDERS FOR MEDALS AND HE ALSO SIGNED A FEW OF THEM HISSELF WHEN THIS IS NOT PERMISSABLE..HE ALSO MADE SURE HE TOOK HIS CAMERA ALONG TO FILM HIS FALSE STORIES..AND WHY DID IT TAKE YEARS AFTER HE GOT OUT TO GET A HONORABLE? DISCHARGE WHICH HE NEVER GOT OFFICIALLY AT FIRST...LOTS OF QUESTIONS RIGHT RICHARD..AS A RETIRED VET MYSELF IM GLAD WE ARE STILL HERE..

Amazing... After saying something totally stupid... He then lies about it saying it was a joke...

It was not a joke, it was stupid.

John Kerry should apologize to the troops for being unable to deliver a joke.

President Bush should apologize to the American public for being unable to deliever Osama bin Laden.

No one is addressing what I see to be the truth behind Kerry's statements. I teach at a continuation high school in California - and lots of my students are disadvantaged in different ways - socio-economically, first and foremost. Many of them come from families where no one has ever gone to college. Many of them come from families where drugs and alcohol have runined there family structure and support. And guess what many of those kids think is a good way out???

Join the military! Get a bonus! Better myself! Better my opportunities!

If they don't end up maimed or dead, that is. John Kerry spoke an inconvenient and ugly TRUTH. You all know it.

Are you such a moron to believe Bush is actually a good president who never screws up our language? Instead of focusing on a comment that Kerry made how about being more critical of our DUMBA** in chief. After 10 years in the Army I served my country proudly. Didn't always agree with the politicians but that wasn't my job. It's YOUR job to be critical of a complete moron and to educate the masses of this fool running our country.

He didn't mean water-boarding....

For all the right-wingers who are stroking their thighs with glee over the White House's twisting of Kerry's words, how quickly you forget the plain meaning of your own Dear Junior Leader's water-boarding remarks. To paraphrase the Second Lady ... When did he say anything about the troops?

Get over yourselves and get serious because real humans are dying in Iraq while the leaders of this country use them for their own political purposes. This spectacle being no different.

Iran, North Korea, Syria.

Power vacuum in the new Iraqi capital of BAngDad.

Why can't anyone write a good story about this? Why not compare and contrast how Hezbollah and Hamas hate each other, how Iran and Iraq hated each other and how now they are allies against the great Satan of the west. what ever happened to divide and conqueer? I'll tell you... the current Republican administration is too busy padding their pockets with oil and using stupid non-issues as queers, monkey evolution and stem cells with a hint of religous zealously to get the uneducated voters to vote for them. Why can't the Dems learn and do the same thing?

I am much more nervous now than I was last week that this election tidal wave may be more of a ripple. I think Kerry's statement was immensely stupid and I cringed when I first heard it. All the arguments about the chickenhawks being the first ones to offer up our sons and daughters for foreign adventures is absolutely true, but that doesn't make Kerry's statement any less callous or politically (and otherwise) moronic.

The Dems really should shut up and get out of the way. But instead we get, right before the election of course, ANOTHER ruling from a liberal state in favor of civil unions/ gay marriage (I wholeheartedly support the verdict, but sometimes it is better to be smart than right and wait for the freakin' election where Democrats have the momentum) following the calamatous Massachusetts ruling 2 years back that I believe was a definite factor in at least bolstering Bush's margin of victory. The other, as we see here today, is that Kerry is useless, condescending and just plain inept and should not be the mouthpiece for future Democrats.

In that vain, I desperately hope Mr. Obama can live up to the hype. He should assert himself as the mouthpiece of the 21st Century Democrats, and continue to speaking elegantly and movingly about the real issues that people are facing. I absolutely hope he runs in 2008 before his Senate record gets too long. This will be most likely the only chance he will ever get to run for the presidency without facing an incumbent. And languishing in the Senate is a historical non-starter. Please pull the trigger and don't let us down.

You do have to be crazy to think John Kerry, the Democrat and veteran who lost the most recent presidential election, would insult our troops one week before the Democrats are expected to take back one or both houses. He botched the joke terribly; the guy just isn't good at jokes. But you don't have to be a northeastern intellectual elitist to know John Kerry would not intentionally suggest our troops are uneducated, especially now. Apparently certain Republicans couldn't grasp the truth--or didn't want to--and wasted no time manipulating the Kerry misstatement for political gain. They asked that he apologize to our troops, not because they deserve one for volunteering to fight our battles, but for political gain. Is that the Republicans' idea of supporting our troops? That, President Bush, is insulting and shameful.

Ok...let's all of us tell some truth: many (not all) of our troops are in Iraq because they did not study hard enough and did not have other good options for moving forward with their lives. It is to their credit that they had the strength of character to make the choice that they did.

Ask the troops...they would tell you the same...why don't we stop the posturing and proganda and call a spade a spade.

You know who he was talking about when he said
You study hard, you do your homework, ..
you don't get stuck in Iraq. (and it is not our troops...)

I wish EVERYONE could read this . . . I am not a Democrat, Republican, Independent, Green, etc. I am an AMERICAN.

I am fearful that ALL SIDES of these political debates, includng the media are slowly destroying our country. I don't care who is right or who is wrong, I care about preventing our country from crumbling to ground in self destruction.

Openly criticizing our standing government (an accepted policital tact in this nation) ERODES our country in the eyes of the world. I don't care if you're criticizing Clinton or Bush, if ANYONE appears on national new criticizing our standing government, it GREATLY WEAKENS our nation in the eyes of our enemies.

Sure, you can say this is the democratic process, but imagine our what our enemies see. They hate us anyway and ANYTIME they hear politicians or the media doing this, it bolsters their hatred, it strengthens their resolve to destroy anything American, it convinces them our internal disagreements have weakened us sufficiently to encourage further attacks.

PLEASE EVERYONE - BAND TOGETHER TO STOP ANYTHING THE CRITICIZES AMERICA - LET'S STAND TOGETHER AND MAKE US LOOK LIKE A STRONG POWERFUL NATION - NOT A NATION WEAKENED BY INTERNAL FIGHTING !!!!

TELL POLITICIANS OF ANY PARTY THAT YOU ARE FED UP WITH THEM MAKING AMERICA LOOK WEAK IN THE EYES OF THE WORLD.

TELL THE MEDIA THAT YOU ARE TIRED OF THEM MAKING AMERICA LOOK WEAK - TELL THE MEDIA YOU ARE TIRED OF THEM MULTIPLYING THE VISIBILITY OF OUR ENEMIES - BY SHOWING VIDEOS OF BIN LADEN, ET AL.

IF WE DO NOT STOP THIS MADNESS IMMEDIATELY

Send your sons anddaughters to Iraq and tell me then!!duh??? He has been there. shut up you Republicans, why do Democrats make up 80 of our forces???"?

Its about time! If Kerry would have spoke this way a few years ago maybe America would not be the in the situation we are currently in and thousands of Americans would not be dead based on war, which was based on lies. If anyone owes the troops in Iraq an apology, its Bush, Cheney and Ruumy.

I heard a comment from a returning soldier out of Iraq that was interesting. The death count doesn't include those wounded that are transported to Germany (or anywhere else out of country) and later die, so the actual death tally is much higher than the 3000 or so claimed by the Bush administration. More likely 5 or 6 thousand. Or higher.

No doubt the Republicans are happy to have any kind of diversion right now, although I really don't know what good it's going to do for them. If I were a Republican, I'd look at the big picture and be VERY disappointed that this hurts Kerry's chances for '08.