"Education" Kerry said "-- if you make the most of it and you study hard and you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."Does this mean Kerry is unapologizing in a backhanded sort of fashion? Are we seeing a walkback from the apology? Kerry seems to be endorsing the position taken by the editorial board by placing the editorial on his website, though that may simply be a result of a search for stories about Kerry and placing them on the site regardless of content.
Was Kerry making fun of the president, or warning students against the pitfalls awaiting the undereducated in general?
It doesn't matter. Kerry was right either way.
Kerry wasn't saying -- regardless of the Republican spin -- that our troops are stupid.
Kerry's intended point was obvious. President Bush didn't do his homework before he ordered the invasion. He didn't study the intricacies of Mideast religion, culture, politics and tribalism. He wasn't smart about it and we are stuck in Iraq.
Although there are plenty of well-educated people in our armed forces -- Kerry was one of them -- military service has long been an opportunity employer for those with less education and fewer skills than they need to work in the private sector. Indeed, the military sells itself as a place to garner skills and to help pay for higher education.
And wars, including this one, are often fought by those less privileged -- albeit no less smart -- than the sons and daughters of those who lead us into them.
Apologies? Sure, from the cut-and-run Democratic candidates who've cancelled appearances with Kerry.
However, it is quite interesting to see the editorial board engage in pretzel logic to try and find a rationale for Kerry's statements, both the initial statement that caused the outrage, and the successive attempts at claiming it was all a botched joke. To the PI, this was no joke. It cut to the truth - Kerry was speaking the truth when he said that those serving in the military aren't smart, or else they wouldn't be in the military.
And it's this editorial that also shines a light on the modern left in the US. They truly do believe their own hype that the miltiary is evil and is otherwise engaged in nefarious activities (see Sy Hersch for more on that line of thought).
Stated plainly, Kerry believes what he was saying, and no amount of spin on his (or his flacks) can change the basic fact. That so many on the Left are defending his initial utterances as true, shows the nature of the Left - Kerry included. Their disdain of the military is palpable and pervasive in the Left's mindset.
Also blogging: Confederate Yankee, Bryan Preston, Dan Riehl, and Ed Driscoll.
UPDATE:
The Jawa Report put together a nice video showing exactly what Kerry has meant all along.
UPDATE:
Others taking notice of the curious appearance of the editorial on Kerry's website and how it appears to be a tacit endorsement of its position: Don Surber, bRight and Early, Sister Toldjah, Cold Fury, Flopping Aces, and Right Voices.
UPDATE:
The story has been taken down from the Kerry website (Via Ace). Oh why would they do such a thing? Does it not coincide with their line of thinking? Does it raise too many questions about Kerry's true intents and thinking on the subject of the military? Was the editorial's presence embarrassing (moreso than the usual BS coming from his offices, that is)?
Technorati: john kerry, support the troops, democrat, politics.
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