Due Time
John Kerry told the truth. Our pathetic POTUS tried to jump all over it. Kerry slapped him down.
I did a dance. Democrats are growing some balls and fighting back!
Not so much.
Damn.
Where parenting and politics meet, but don't always play nice.
John Kerry told the truth. Our pathetic POTUS tried to jump all over it. Kerry slapped him down.
13 Comments:
I agree with what Kerry was trying to say. Too bad he botched the joke.
The thing though is that you have to watch what you say in politics. Especially right now with the election just days away.
Botched joke or not, there are plenty of undecideds who might not look kindly on a party leader making light of our soldiers and their intelligence.
If I was one of Kerry's advisers I'd have told him, "Unless you have that joke down perfect, don't do it. If you're at all hesitant or unsure, just skip to the next line in the speech." That's of course with the benefit of hind-sight. But to anyone with any objective viewpoint you'd have to think that he would need to make that statement exactly as it was written. Any deviation, as we see, leads to this crap.
And let's not kid ourselves. If this was the other way around (Bush flubs line about soldier's intelligence) the Dems would be jumping up and down just as much as the Republicans are now.
What is funny is that John Kerry would try to insult someone who was a C student at an Ivy League school, when he was also a C student at an Ivy League school.
When I saw the tape of Kerry's speech, it seemed at first that he was serious -- the Botox must not let him smile all that much -- but I can see the joke in his botched ways.
Not to mention that the US isn't "stuck" in Iraq. Bush could easily pull out tomorrow, but he chooses not to. You can disagree with that, but calling it "stuck" is a bit much. That could be part of why people didn't get that it was a joke.
The people "stuck" in Iraq are the troops who have no say about being there.
The punchline would have been better to say...
"... If you don't, you start a war in Iraq."
or
"... If you don't, you try looking for weapons of mass destruction."
Okay, boys, here we go. I teach special ed in a high school and can tell you, from first hand experience, that recruiters are after my kids. Many students who don't have options after high school due to low IQ, laziness, financial issues, etc. are thinking the military is their only way out. The recruiters need bodies and so it works out well for them to sell the military as a way to see the world or get money for college or whatever they need to say to sell it.
My students are the ones who go in, find themselves on the front lines, and feel trapped in an awful situation without proper support, supplies or training. And if you think I spend hours and hours every day educating these kids and can shrug it off that they are put in harm's way by an administration that doesn't give a rat's ass about them - well, then you don't know many teachers.
The military also worked hard to lower the standards by which recruits are hired. They don't care if the newbie is mentally handicapped - put a gun in his hands!
I even heard a report on NPR last week from a guy at Yale who lamented the lack of highly educated soldiers.
I'm disappointed in what Kerry has said afterward - botched joke, my ass. And he should have stuck by his guns and told Bush to shove it up his arse.
The bottom line remains: get an education, kids, and then the military won't look like such a hot option. CAUSE IT'S NOT.
John Kerry isn't any snobbier than Adam Putnam. I lived and worked in Boston and was never made to feel inferior just because I graduated from USF and not Harvard. But I'm a goddamn delight. So perhaps that has something to do with it.
My student's experiences are not isolated experiences. This man thinks there's a problem with Ivy League-ers rejecting a military career. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6344638
When our military is dumbed down in order to staff a war in Iraq - why the hell would they want to join? When we are in a constant state of war and the reasons have nothing to do with patriotism, why the hell would most anyone join?
I'm not the only one asking these questions. Otherwise recruitment wouldn't be down. So why does Kerry get in trouble for pointing out the obvious?
Kate, Only you would support a jack ass like Kerry. Give me a break. Just about every dem running for office has dumped him but you defend him.
Remarkable that someone with an education like yourself can be so gullible.
I break ranks with Dems who are running for office and that makes me gullible? Surely you mean a different adjective - perhaps independent? Enfuriating? Irresistible?
I could go on and on.
And for the record, I supported what Kerry said in the beginning and his immediate response. The apology sucked big time. And I don't support that.
Whether or not Kerry was meaning to degrade the military, he has definitely given a boost to the republican base to get out and vote for republicans.
Personally I dont think he meant to insult the military, but he sure makes a habit of saying things in really stupid ways. Im sure you remember 2004, and press couldnt get enough of his flip flop comments.
Overall, though, Kerry has had a history of saying demeaning things about the military. The vietnam comments, the comments in 1972 about only poor and blacks will be in the military if its volunteer, the terrorizing women and children comment, and this.
I am pretty sure now he will not be running for president in 2008.
Don't let Sandy fool you. Not only has she taught me all I need to know about passion products, this Southie girl would do ANYTHING for me and has - like haul a crib up four flights of stairs in the North End.
(Can you just *hear* her accent?)
You go, girl.
A man spends his whole life following the teachings of his God. He loves his nieghbor, donates to the poor, volunteers with the needy. After a long and full life he passes away peacefully and finds himself at the Pearly Gates. As St. Peter aproaches to open his book and grant the worthy entry to thier eternal bliss, the man notices that another soul has joined him at the gates. St. Peter greets the men and then explains, "due to the unexpected and unneeded conflicts on earth we are nearly filled up. I am afraid I can only let one of you in." St. Peter looks to the man who was there first, "what have you done to earn your passage through these gates?" The man tells of his many good deeds and his long life of putting others before himself. "That is very good" says the saint. "What about you?" he asks the other man. "Well, not to much" the man stammers out "I spent most of my life getting all that I could for myself, I put money ahead of my family and others, I lied, cheated stole and basicly just trod on everyone that I could to get ahead in my career as a Republican politician." "Wow!" replied St. Peter, "Go right on in!" he says to the second man. The worthy man was shocked, "Why does he get in?" he asked the saint. "Were you not listening" the saint replied "he is a republican, and we don't have any of those yet!"
That was an incredibly stupid joke. Im willing to admit there are corrupt republicans if you are willing to admit there are corrupt democrats. 90K in a freezer, studds, etc. Republican corruption seems to be taking the cake the last 2 years though.
The thing that makes the people corrupt is POLITICS not political party. Both sides do it, unfortunately.
POLITICS (in all capital letters or otherwise written) does not make people corrupt. it is a decision made by an individual regardless of political affiliation.
if a politican chooses to be corrupt, then s/he has done so primarily for their own personal gain.
however, i will say that the current administration seems to tolerate, if not, encourage an environment ripe for corruption. just check out the news and see who's crying now at their sentencing hearing.
I agree with Jenn - people make decisions and choose corruption if it benefits them in some way (usually in the wallet). And it happens despite the person's political affiliation. Unfortunately.
I didnt mean to say all politicians are corrupt. I would say its a decent percentage, some twist the rules for their pocket, others just break the rules for their pocket. Both political parties.
Just clarifying.
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