Almost on the eve of what might be an election resurgence for the Democrats, John Kerry has stepped forward to diminish his party's chances. It is apparent that Kerry is suffering from campaign stress disorder with his comments regarding U.S. troops.
Here is the comment which at the center of the building storm.
''You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, 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.'' Just in case you were wondering if Kerry was misquoted here is a video of his remarks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLuMWiQ6r2o
The spin being placed on this by the Kerry camp is that it was a botched joke regarding Bush getting us mired in Iraq. Once again Kerry attempts nuance when a simple straight forward apology should have been the order of the day.
Instead Kerry has chosen to dig in his heels and get into a contest that not only will hurt him but will also drag down the party with him. Remember that this is not the first time that Kerry has made disparaging remarks about the United States military. It was his famous congressional testimony after his 90 day Viet Nam tour that was the primary motivation behind the "Swift Boat Veterans" campaign that did enormous damage to his presidential aspirations.
Kerry supposedly learned from that experience that he should go immediately on the attack when he is criticized. Like always, a strategy designed out of hind sight regarding one incident is not always effective in the new situation. So it looks in this case. This is one of the quotes from Kerry response to Republican jibes at him.
"I'm not going to be lectured by a stuffed-suit White House mouthpiece standing behind a podium, or doughy Rush Limbaugh, who no doubt today will take a break from belittling Michael J. Fox's Parkinson's disease to start lying about me just as they have lied about Iraq."
This has nothing to do with Michael J. Fox or Iraq, nor is it lies about John Kerry. He said what he said and the whole nation can see it come directly from his mouth.
If the Democrats do not gain a majority in either the house or the senate, this incident will be looked upon as a major factor. As a seasoned politician, Kerry should have had the discipline and the knowledge to know that as the standard bearer of the party in the last presidential campaign, his every word could be important.
In his zeal he has blundered. It will surely end any chance he has of gaining the nomination once again and it has the potential to mushroom into snatching defeat from the jaws of victory for the Democrats.
