Bush on Kerry remark: U.S. troops are ‘plenty smart’
WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush joined GOP lawmakers Tuesday in blasting Sen. John Kerry for telling a group of college students they could either work hard in school or “get stuck in Iraq.”….”Even in the midst of a heated campaign season, there are still some things we should all be able to agree on, and one of the most important is that every one of our troops deserves our gratitude and respect,” Bush said….”The senator’s suggestion that the men and women of our military are somehow uneducated is insulting and shameful,” Bush said. “The men and women who serve in our all-volunteer armed forces are plenty smart and are serving because they are patriots — and Senator Kerry owes them an apology.”
Ohferchrissakes…. Sen. John Kerry makes an admittedly lame joke, and suddenly Republicans are having paroxysms of righteous indignation. OHMIGOD!!! WE MUST SUPPORT OUR TROOPS!! Well, you know, if we really supported our troops, we’d be bringing them home right about now, don’t you think?
Instead of focusing on Kerry’s message, Republicans have chosen to focus on a joke- and not a particularly good one at that. Yes, it was a lame, stupid attempt at humor than Kerry admits came off poorly. His mistake was in giving Republicans something- anything- to voice righteous indignation over. Regardless of what you think of Kerry’s somewhat stunted sense of humor, no one with half a brain should be question this decorated Vietnam War vet’s commitment to our men and women in uniform. For Republicans to claim otherwise is craven, opportunistic, and just plain wrong.
Sen. Kerry has nothing to apologize for- except perhaps having a very lame sense of humor. His criticism of Our Glorious and Benevolent Leader’s illegal and immoral clusterf—k war in Iraq is dead-on, and that’s what Republican really can’t stand. They have no argument, so they’ve been reduced to making much ado about nothing.
Frankly, Our Glorious and Benevolent Leader, Tony Snow, and Sen. John McCain aren’t fit to hold Kerry’s jockstrap. McCain, while also a decorated Vietnam War veteran, is a dedicated political opportunist will to be all things to all people if it gets him elected. Snow is a partisan zealot with a tenuous grip on reality…never mind the truth. And Our Glorious and Benevolent Leader? Well, he’s still convinced that the war on terror is still about fighting terrorists in the streets of Baghdad instead of the streets of Manhattan. Lies, prevarications, and propaganda have become a way of life for this cabal.
Perhaps Sen. Kerry’s biggest mistake was to think he actually has a sense of humor. Really, though, who do you think owes our men and women in uniform an apology? How about Our Glorious and Benevolent Leader for sending them off to die in a pointless ideological war? How about Tony Snow for twisting the truth to serve his boss’ ends? How about John McCain for his willingness to adjust his positions so his sails catch the prevailing political winds? John Kerry is no comedian, but he’s not the one who owes anyone an apology.
