John Kerry's comments

**Jeeperrr** · November 2nd, 2006, 08:59 AM

I think the stats on misspeaking are:

Bush 10,000

Kerry 1

He has explained it, the written text has been shown circulated to the press - I hope it fades as fast as the Republican issues do.

It's so obvious that Kerry would not insult the troops in that way.

**senorina** · November 2nd, 2006, 02:35 PM

Originally posted by Jeeperrr:

It's so obvious that Kerry would not insult the troops in that way.

to whom?

not me.

not even his own party.

**Maureen in Italy** · November 2nd, 2006, 06:36 PM

Originally posted by Stormyskies:
Kerry never even hesitated. Maybe had he stumbled after he said it and stammered around and made the correction right then and there, I would say yes, he made a mistake...but he never blinked an eye. He just went right on with the same arrogant attitude. So what is Kerry doing...talking without realizing what he is saying? And Bush may mispronounce words, but he has never insulted anyone with his blunders, nor does he ever insult people when he speaks. Kerry implied that the very people who protect our country are dumb and left it at that. If the guy didn't realize his error then, then he needs to give up public speaking.

I don't know, I found a few of these to be pretty darn offensive. (And there are lots more where these came from)

President Bush: "Peter. Are you going to ask that question with shades on?"
Peter Wallsten of the Los Angeles Times: "I can take them off."
Bush: "I'm interested in the shade look, seriously."
Wallsten: "All right, I'll keep it, then."
Bush: "For the viewers, there's no sun."
Wallsten: "I guess it depends on your perspective."
Bush: "Touche.
--an exchange with legally blind reporter Peter Wallsten, to whom Bush later apologized, Washington, D.C., June 14, 2006

"As you can possibly see, I have an injury myself -- not here at the hospital, but in combat with a cedar. I eventually won. The cedar gave me a little scratch. As a matter of fact, the Colonel asked if I needed first aid when she first saw me. I was able to avoid any major surgical operations here, but thanks for your compassion, Colonel." --George W. Bush, after visiting with wounded veterans from the Amputee Care Center of Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas, Jan. 1, 2006

"But all in all, it's been a fabulous year for Laura and me." ?summing up his first year in office, three months after the 9/11 attacks, Washington, D.C., Dec. 20, 2001

"Do you have blacks, too?" ?to Brazilian President Fernando Cardoso, Washington, D.C., Nov. 8, 2001

"Those weapons of mass destruction have got to be somewhere!" ?President George W. Bush, joking about his administration's failure to find WMDs in Iraq as he narrated a comic slideshow during the Radio & TV Correspondents' Association dinner, Washington, D.C., March 24, 2004

"I can look you in the eye and tell you I feel I've tried to solve the problem diplomatically to the max, and would have committed troops both in Afghanistan and Iraq knowing what I know today." --George W. Bush, Irvine, Calif., April 24, 2006

"My answer is bring them on." ?on Iraqi insurgents attacking U.S. forces, Washington, D.C., July 3, 2003

"I'm the commander ? see, I don't need to explain ? I do not need to explain why I say things. That's the interesting thing about being president." ?as quoted in Bob Woodward's Bush at War

"I'm also not very analytical. You know I don't spend a lot of time thinking about myself, about why I do things." ?aboard Air Force One, June 4, 2003

"I wish you'd have given me this written question ahead of time so I could plan for it?I'm sure something will pop into my head here in the midst of this press conference, with all the pressure of trying to come up with answer, but it hadn't yet?.I don't want to sound like I have made no mistakes. I'm confident I have. I just haven't ? you just put me under the spot here, and maybe I'm not as quick on my feet as I should be in coming up with one." ?President George W. Bush, after being asked to name the biggest mistake he had made

**Maureen in Italy** · November 2nd, 2006, 08:56 PM

Originally posted by Stormyskies:
Just where does he get off implying that President Bush didn't study, isn't smart and is intellectually lazy? You know what, I don't buy Kerry's apology for one minute. Kerry doesn't know how to make a joke, so this was no joke. He meant what he said because he doesn't like the military. And frankly, all I ever hear come out of his mouth is hatred. So if Kerry is so superior to President Bush, how on earth did such an intellect like himself make such a huge mistake? Bull! Kerry's true colors were shown!

You need to do your research before writing things like this. Like him or hate him, Kerry is known for being pro-military.

It still makes me mad that so many thought it was hilarious when people wore the purple heart bandaids at the Republican Convention in 2004. How freakin' crazy is it that the same people who poked fun at his distinguished service record in 2004 are so quick to jump on him for what he mistakenly said the other day.

Here is another view of what Kerry does behind the scenes when no cameras are around.

My family and John Kerry
by RIP Russ
Tue Oct 31, 2006 at 02:51:22 PM PST

I didn't support John Kerry in the primary in 04 (I live in NH, so I get my pick of contenders to vote for). I won't support him in 08. He ran a poor campaign which I believe cost us the White House. And I won't support giving him our party's nomination so he can do it again. I will, of course, vote for whoever the nominee is, as I did in 04. So, it's not like I'm some big John Kerry-ite.

On June 13 of this year, my younger brother Russ was killed in Afghanistan. There is obviously no need for me to explain the pain this caused me and my family, from my mother, to Russ' twin brother, to his fiance.

We were contacted by all the members of our state's congressional coalition (all Republicans) and by our governor (John Lynch, a Dem). Only one politician from outside the state contacted us, and that was John Kerry. At Russ' funeral, the only two politicians who attended were Lynch and Kerry (no, cynics, he didn't advertise his appearance or make any statements to the media about it, so don't suggest he did it to win votes).

Since the funeral, a couple of our congressmen have followed up a little with our family. So has Lynch. So has Kerry. He has called my mother on multiple occaisions and offered to do anything he can to help us.

In short, he was there for my family, the family of a fallen soldier. He continues to be there for us, and has offered to do more.

What he said yesterday was clearly a slip of the tongue. He was talking about Bush, and misspoke slightly. The White House knows it, just as we know it. For cheap political gain, Bush and Co. are trying to make it sound as if he is insulting the troops, when they absolutely know that that is not the case.

As someone who has experienced Kerry's support for the troops first-hand, and as someone who has seen him give some small amount of comfort to my griveing mother, I can't put into words how offensive I find the false suggestion, for cheap politcal gain, that Kerry wants to insult our troops and their families.

To everyone out there trying to make that case (Bush, Cheney, Snow, McCain, among others), one simple message: Go to hell.

[ November 02, 2006 04:57 PM: Message edited by: Maureen in Italy ]

**senorina** · November 3rd, 2006, 01:10 AM

well, I think that john kerry needs to take responsibilty for his mistake, quit blaming other people, and put on his big-boy pants.

I honestly think the way he handled this is the reason he is a bad nNational Candidate. He could have gotten out in front of it, explained what he meant and said sorry it came out wrong.

Instead he said let me be very clear I apologize to no one about my criticism of the administration.

NO ONE ASKED HIM TO APOLOGIZE FOR HIS CRITICISM OF THE ADMINISTRATION!

they asked him to apologize for a joke that came out insulting to the troops! whether he meant to or not, thats wht people asked for an apology for. But he decided to get all tough and bad-ass and re-direct it to other people instead of taking responsibility.

It him talking without saying anything.

And please, any questionable comment be it from Trent Lott or any politician is going to be jumped on by the other side.

**kayhill232** · November 3rd, 2006, 02:39 AM

I believe he also attended the funeral for a LCF board member's brother.

It would be interesting to know how many funerals he has attended.

I honestly think he is being bombarded too much. He said it, he apologized, let it go.

**feelinggreat** · November 3rd, 2006, 02:56 AM

( I haven't been back and I'm trying to catch up... ) I'm not sure why anyone says they didn't get it. It definitely was NOT clear to all of us that Kerry was saying anything disparaging about the military. A lot of people understood his remarks were about Bush.

I know the RNC made it clear they only wanted one or two sentences quoted but his words/sentences in the speech immediately before that isolated quote were about BUSH. His talk was aimed at the President. He told the students that he had been in Texas the day before, that President Bush used to live in that state but that "now he lives in the state of denial." And then on the next joke he left one word out - the word "us". (i.e. Bush isn't smart and he got us stuck in Iraq. ) Kerry was speaking to college students saying that you need to work hard to acquire knowledge. Most of us can see the differentiation there.

My guess is that people who have and/or still are supporting Bush are also in a state of denial - they cannot bear to admit he's completely botched the war he flogs constantly.

I went and found the Matthews transcript - I believe Senorina mentioned that she watched it ... this part is what really struck me - Dick Armey telling us how they're working this GOP spin cycle! :

MATTHEWS: ?. I?ve got joining me right now former Republican leader of the House Dick Armey.

Mr. Armey, what do you make of this?well, it?s a rhubarb I guess in politics terms. What is it? Is this a real catch him, we got him, or is it they?re making it look like they?ve got Kerry saying something?

DICK ARMEY ?, FMR. HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER: Well, it?s pretty standard fare in political discourse. You misconstrue what somebody said. You isolate a statement, you lend your interpretation to it and then feign moral outrage. And Democrats have been doing it for years.

MATTHEWS: So it?s a bicoastal, bipartisan opportunity.

ARMEY: And I would say to John Kerry, look, you live by the P.C., you die by the P.C. I mean, the P.C. was a Democrat creation, so share and share alike.

MATTHEWS: What do you mean the P.C.?

ARMEY: Political correctness, you know, feigning moral outrage for what might be perceived to have been a possible slight, given my interpretation of what was said.

MATTHEWS: And so the president?well, according to the prepared statement we have gotten a copy of, will jump on Kerry defending the troops when, in fact, Kerry may well have meant?according to reading the script of what he said and the account of it, he was trashing the very man who is now defending the troops. He was trashing Bush himself and Bush says don?t say those terrible things about my troops!

ARMEY: Right.

MATTHEWS: So this is a bit of theater orchestrated well by the White House. They have got the American Legion commander out there making a statement. They got him to do it. I?m sure?I assume that most of these people didn?t read the whole statement of Kerry yesterday, but they are happy to jump on the quote they got.

ARMEY: A fundamental premise of politics is we can make this work if people just never figure it out.

"I assume that most of these people didn?t read the whole statement of Kerry yesterday, but they are happy to jump on the quote they got."

Sad but true.

Then Armey says this! It'll work "If people just never figure it out"!!!! They thought it was bad if Kerry called the President or soldiers stupid but here is Armey saying if they can't figure it out... well, I hope they can figure that out themselves.

**Jeeperrr** · November 3rd, 2006, 03:06 AM

And this is why Kerry refused to apologize. They were not asking him to apologize for his mistake, they wanted him to apologize for something that never happened - THEIR interpretation of the situation. The GOP and their flaks were intentionally twisting his words once again, along with the help of the media, who happily quoted the phrase completely out of context.

I was shocked, too, when I heard the headlines. It was quickly cleared up when I read the rest of what he said, however.

**Stormyskies** · November 3rd, 2006, 04:05 AM

Kerry never even hesitated. Maybe had he stumbled after he said it and stammered around and made the correction right then and there, I would say yes, he made a mistake...but he never blinked an eye. He just went right on with the same arrogant attitude. So what is Kerry doing...talking without realizing what he is saying? And Bush may mispronounce words, but he has never insulted anyone with his blunders, nor does he ever insult people when he speaks. Kerry implied that the very people who protect our country are dumb and left it at that. If the guy didn't realize his error then, then he needs to give up public speaking.

**Stormyskies** · November 3rd, 2006, 06:50 PM

Originally posted by Maureen in Italy:
You need to do your research before writing things like this. Like him or hate him, Kerry is known for being pro-military.

It still makes me mad that so many thought it was hilarious when people wore the purple heart bandaids at the Republican Convention in 2004. How freakin' crazy is it that the same people who poked fun at his distinguished service record in 2004 are so quick to jump on him for what he mistakenly said the other day.

Here is another view of what Kerry does behind the scenes when no cameras are around.

<blockquote>quote:<hr />My family and John Kerry
by RIP Russ
Tue Oct 31, 2006 at 02:51:22 PM PST

I didn't support John Kerry in the primary in 04 (I live in NH, so I get my pick of contenders to vote for). I won't support him in 08. He ran a poor campaign which I believe cost us the White House. And I won't support giving him our party's nomination so he can do it again. I will, of course, vote for whoever the nominee is, as I did in 04. So, it's not like I'm some big John Kerry-ite.

On June 13 of this year, my younger brother Russ was killed in Afghanistan. There is obviously no need for me to explain the pain this caused me and my family, from my mother, to Russ' twin brother, to his fiance.

We were contacted by all the members of our state's congressional coalition (all Republicans) and by our governor (John Lynch, a Dem). Only one politician from outside the state contacted us, and that was John Kerry. At Russ' funeral, the only two politicians who attended were Lynch and Kerry (no, cynics, he didn't advertise his appearance or make any statements to the media about it, so don't suggest he did it to win votes).

Since the funeral, a couple of our congressmen have followed up a little with our family. So has Lynch. So has Kerry. He has called my mother on multiple occaisions and offered to do anything he can to help us.

In short, he was there for my family, the family of a fallen soldier. He continues to be there for us, and has offered to do more.

What he said yesterday was clearly a slip of the tongue. He was talking about Bush, and misspoke slightly. The White House knows it, just as we know it. For cheap political gain, Bush and Co. are trying to make it sound as if he is insulting the troops, when they absolutely know that that is not the case.

As someone who has experienced Kerry's support for the troops first-hand, and as someone who has seen him give some small amount of comfort to my griveing mother, I can't put into words how offensive I find the false suggestion, for cheap politcal gain, that Kerry wants to insult our troops and their families.

To everyone out there trying to make that case (Bush, Cheney, Snow, McCain, among others), one simple message: Go to hell.

[ November 02, 2006 04:57 PM: Message edited by: Maureen in Italy ]<hr /></blockquote>I'm sorry, but Kerry dose not have a distinguished military career at all! His military career is a joke, if you can even call it a career. He threw away his metals! That should tell one how much that meant to him. The guy is a con artist. Like I said before, the guy never missed a beat when he said what he said. You can't tell me it was a mistake because it is obvious to me, my family and my friends, not to mention other Democratic candidates who now do not want Kerry speaking at their rally's, that this guy does not support the military and never has. I'm not fooled by his elegant speaks.

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