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.
posted by kate @ 2:48 AM
21 comments
21 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."
Just what was it that he was "trying to say?"
Because I don't think for a second he was trying to disparage Bush. He was talking like the elitist snobs that I know all too well who think they are better than average folks. Seeing all those Ivy Leaguers in one audience, he felt comfortable cracking a "we're better than them" joke.
It's sad, Kerry was a common ordinary guy who was a brave sailor (yeah, you heard me, there is no cushy way to get shot at.) However to fit in with the Massachusetts elite over the years, he aquired an accent, a snobby demeanor and has forgotten his roots.
On the other hand, it's not such a big deal to me and I think everyone needs to move on with it. I mean "Surprise! The rich white elitist snobs think they're better than the rest of us." Shocker.
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.
Your premise is faulty. You're taking one segment of the population that is recruited and then slathering the entire military with that whitewash.
There are kids who might see the military as their only way out and some of them get in and find out that it wasn't the best choice for them. However, there are a ton more who go in for a host of reasons including as a means to pay for higher education.
The assertion by Kerry was pretty clear - those in the military are failures in the real world. He didn't say that they weren't wealthy enough to pay for college on their own, he didn't say they were patriotic, he said that for those who fail, the military is their last resort. You can't get around that. True, there are going to be individuals in the military who don't measure up to Kerry's measuring stick of being Ivy league "brilliant", whatever that is, just as there are in society as a whole.
However, go to any college campus and visit the ROTC or see the graduating class at the military institutes and you will see the best and the brightest.
As far as the enlisted are concerned, getting in might not be as difficult as you think it should be, however, to get promoted up the ranks, you've got to have education and training. For the most part, many senior NCO's have a minimum bachelor's degree and advance degrees are commonplace.
Culling out the kid in your class who is recruited and comparing them with the Ivy Leaguers satisfies the Kerry test and me taking the members of the military who fly on the space shuttle and say that they are the "norm" isn't fair either.
Again, Kerry's comments are the average, "we're better than them and we rule the world," type of elitism that goes on in old money clubs and corporate board rooms. As a liberal Democrat, I'd think you'd abhor such blatant snobbery.
P.S. Love the Halloween costumes. Makes me wish I was a kid again and my metabolism would allow for me to be a glutton for one day without having to worry about weight gain.
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.
Kate said:
"Surely you mean a different adjective - perhaps independent? Enfuriating? Irresistible?"
...continuing: bewitching? beguiling? bewildering?
Kate,
Kerry is a Jackass. Even you should have cringed at what he said. All the "students" behind him didn't know what to do. Look at the clip of Kerry again, telling his hysterical joke.....NO ONE got it.....not even his supporters.
Kerry should be really nervous that all those losers and uneducated morons in Iraq are protecting his ass. It's because of them that this idiot CAN speak freely.
Bewitching, beguiling, bewildering, get a hold of yourself Mr. Adam's professor.....she ain't all that!!!!!
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.
I asked it elsewhere and I'm asking it here:
Did no one see "Jarhead"? He quoted almost directly from the movie when Jake Gyllenhaal's character is being bitched out by his drill instructor before the opening title...
Jake quips to hill drill instructor why he is in the marines to begin with: "Sir, I took a wrong turn at college, sir!"
I don't care for Kerry, I think he was a weak candidate who has had his ego stroked by too many since 2004 which has just given him hubris... That being said, I know some of you who insist on posting on Kate's blog are nothing but fucktard nitwits who want to disparage, attack and insult anyone who is left of your position (and using the phrase "Fucktards" might be an insult -- but lets face it, some of you guys have quite a lead on me insulting Kate and liberals in general on this site). You're just a reminder how some of the US remains to keep blinders on to the fact that each and every American is getting reamed by this administration -- as is the fabric of the country itself.
So go ahead, piss and moan over a remark... Just remember that it's free speech, Soldiers are supposedly serving this country to protect free speech -- and several high level officials in this administration would like nothing more than to remove that right from residents in general -- and it's not just John Kerry or those who stand on the political left...
Kate you make your students out to be the kind of students who take the short bus to school while wearing hockey helmets!! And our military is dragging them off to Iraq to prop them up in front of sand bags!! Come on will ya. You work with troubled youths who may need the military. There is NOTHING wrong with serving your country Kate. Oh did I mention it is a volunteer
ARMY Hope to see ya soon
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.
john f.,
I, for one, cannot take seriously one who cites as their example of a factual "military experience" which I am to defer to as the ultimate authority on the issue, a movie, most probably viewed in the air-conditioned comfort of the Channelside.
A loud and resounding "Airborne!" to those of you in the Bijou Brigade, from those of us who actually served to protect your right to say such foolishness.
The daughter, army brat her entire life, says she can't believe people are so upset over Kerry thinking soldiers are dumb "Isn't it worse to have a president who is dumb?"
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