Speaking of Apologies

[WilliamPitt]

For the record, this is what John Kerry said: "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."

Big deal, right? He was clearly referring to George W. Bush with those lines, and sure, his comedic timing is somewhere to the south of sharp. A few people got it, however, Chris Matthews, on his MSNBC show 'Hardball,' said of the quip, "If you listen to the transition of words there, it clearly looks like he was talking about President Bush being in a state of denial, not realizing when he took us into Iraq what he was going to face because he didn't study hard in school."

But whatever to all that, because it's a campaign season, and campaign seasons tend to make people comprehensively stupid, so everyone gets to hoot and holler about this for a few news cycles. Hell, the GOP has to campaign on something, right? Bush, along with White House press secretary Tony Snow and a few weak-kneed Democrats, have demanded that Kerry apologize for, yes, you got it, "insulting the troops." Surely this is Bizarro World, yes?

Let's take a minute and think of some other apologies that probably should be offered, since we're on the subject.

"Right now, Iraq is expanding and improving facilities that were used for the production of biological weapons," said Bush to the UN General Assembly in September of 2002. This was a lie, and he should apologize.

"Iraq has stockpiled biological and chemical weapons, and is rebuilding the facilities used to make more of those weapons. We have sources that tell us that Saddam Hussein recently authorized Iraqi field commanders to use chemical weapons -- the very weapons the dictator tells us he does not have," said Bush in October of 2002. This was a lie, and he should apologize.

"The Iraqi regime possesses and produces chemical and biological weapons. It is seeking nuclear weapons. We know that the regime has produced thousands of tons of chemical agents, including mustard gas, sarin nerve gas, VX nerve gas," said Bush in October of 2002. This was a lie, and he should apologize.

"The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa. Our intelligence sources tell us that he has attempted to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes suitable for nuclear weapons production," said Bush during his January 2003 State of the Union address. This was a lie, and he should apologize.

"Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised," said Bush in March of 2003. This was a lie, and he should apologize.

"But for those who say we haven't found the banned manufacturing devices or banned weapons, they're wrong, we found them," said Bush in May of 2003. This was an astonishing, bald-faced lie. He should apologize, and be ashamed of himself.

105 American soldiers died in Iraq during October because of these lies. 71 American soldiers died in Iraq during September because of these lies. 65 American soldiers died in Iraq during August because of these lies. 43 American soldiers died in July, 61 in June, 69 in May, 76 in April, and 31 in March, the month that marked the three-year anniversary of the carnage unleashed by these lies. 2,818 American soldiers have died since the invasion was undertaken, and 44,779 more have been wounded, because of these lies.

The Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University estimates that more than 600,000 Iraqis have been killed since the invasion was undertaken. A police officer was shot to death, along with a clerk in the Ministry of Industry. Two people were killed by a bomb. Forty people were abducted off a highway north of Baghdad, and five bodies showing signs of torture and mutilation were pulled from the Tigris River. Ten more bodies, showing similar signs of torture, were dumped across different districts in Baghdad. All of this happened during a single day. All of this happened yesterday.

Since we're talking about apologies, George W. Bush owes more than a few. In a just world, he would be made to personally appear before the families of all the dead, and all the wounded, in order to beg for their forgiveness.

One apology, just one, would be good for starters.

[Cetacea]

1. Bingo. Thanks, Will

K+R

on edit: I think Kerry knew precisely what he was doing, that is, keeping the country focused on Iraq. Kerry isn't stupid. I see this helping the Dems after the dust settles. He pulled a mighty punch and has now retreated, something a real soldier would know a thing or two about.

[QuestionAll...]

2. good grief, not another one.

and speaking of apologies, how's that May12th indictment going?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

3. Way to make an effort to be smart, QuestionAll.

At least you're trying.

:eyes:

[Marnieworld]

5. Boooo!

That horse is so very dead.

[QuestionAll...]

6. dead horse = lotso bologna. n/t

[badgerpup]

4. Bush? We're waiting...

Like your flack Snowjob says..."We're throwing you a lifeline here! We're really trying to help you out!"
:sarcasm:
Now say it. We know you won't mean it, but you can at least look like you're making the effort.

[Marnieworld]

7. Right on!

He should also apologize for saying, he "wants to put food on every family." That's not very nice.

The whole 9/11 trifecta remark, it would be great to be a dictator. All offensive quotes.

Kerry should just say he'll apologize for his flubbed line after Bush apologizes for all of his and then read outloud Bushisms from cover to cover.

[Matariki]

8. Thanks. you can always be relied on for level-headedness

and compelling writing.

[understandinglife]

9. This is exactly the topic Senator Kerry launched into full view and ...

..., EVERY DAY, EVERY Democratic candidate should be demanding Bu$h apologize for his fradulent war and his horrible treatment of our soldiers.


Recommended.


Never Forget: George W. Bush willfully violated National Security to cover-up his willful launch of a war of aggression and illegal occupation of Iraq.... and, if you doubt it, just check 'the google' ...

[madrchsod]

10. i finally listened to the sound bite

it was clearly directed to bush and those in the room clearly understood what he was talking about. much to do about nothing.
why does`t our commander in chief apologize for his service in the Viet Nam war....why did`t he check the combat box?

[Alamom]

11. kick

:kick:

[thingfisher]

12. To bad

your comments can't be routed to the MSM for some thoughtful commnetary!

[Serial Mom]

13. cheney needs to apologize for a few things too!

and the list of those needing to say a few apologies could grow!

[Demeter]

14. Don't Hold Your Breath

The Rapture will arrive before anybody in BushWorld offers an apology for anything.

[civildisoBDence]

15. I've only heard the joke as it was written once--on Randi Rhodes today

Kerry left out a vital pronoun: "You get US stuck in Iraq."

How difficult is it to report the whole story here? Kerry made a VERY stupid mistake (some have called it a Freudian slip...) and has apologized.

I do like the way Kerry has counterattacked--fighting fire with fire.

Maybe these last five or six days before the election, we should fight fire with dynamite...

Newsprism

[The Wizard]

16. There are no WMD here

There's none here either. Let me look under here. No none here. Bush makes a bad joke about killing thousands of innocent people and no one is offended. Kerry blows a punch line and the Republican media echo chamber has a fucking period.

[texpatriot2004]

17. For * and the Rethugs...so many apologies, so little time nm

[KoKo]

18. Why did Kerry cave into Repug Don Imus and Apologize in the First Place?

:shrug:

[neuvocat]

19. Bush should apologize for getting the context wrong.

But no, he'd prefer to just prove himself to be the moron he is.

[vixengrl]

20. Damn straight--Kerry makes an unplanned mistatement

and gets a load of grief, but Bush's mistatements of fact were purely deliberate and considered--where is the apology?

Anyone who has considered John Kerry's record has to realize the sheer improbability that he could have meant anything like the GOP spin--this is a man who served his country in Vietnam--and went on to over 30 years of public service. He ran for president in 2004--and is very probably thinking of an '08 run--how dumb would he have to be to be making a joke about the troops? It is clearly Bush who is being crticized. But I can understand how this misinterpretation began.

After all, didn't fellows like five-deferment Dick Cheney think they may have been "too smart" to serve?

It's quite clear who has something to regret.

[mmonk]

21. Great post.

[mkb]

22. Kerry Flap Is Critical

     I'm not a Tad concerned because he's John Kerry that this
flap has gone down this way.  If he ended up at the Fred
Hutchison center as punishment for what he says, so be it.
     I think I'll go back to listening to "Yes sir,
That's my baby".  These things should be constrained. 
Keep hoping for a Democratic victory.

[WilliamPitt]

23. Link to Final

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/110206Z.shtml

[neebob]

24. "If you don't, you get to be President."

THAT would have been clearly referring to Bush. It would have been funny, too, and probably made some news.

Instead, he said what he said, and it sounded like a reference to the fact that a lot of people who can't afford college and don't earn scholarships join the military. He threw the Republicans a giant bone with a big red bow on it at the worst possible time, almost as if he'd been paid to do so.

Bush himself is not stuck in Iraq and will never, ever apologize for sticking anyone else there. That's because he's a fucking lying piece of shit. Truly smart, thinking people know that. And they knew it a long time ago, before he acquired the power to send anyone to Iraq.

Defending Kerry's "joke" in this manner is a lot like defending a vote for the IWR. There's just no excuse for it.

[kentuck]

25. Bush botched a war - not a joke.

And then went on the Rush Limbaugh show the same day that Kerry apologized.

[JudyM]

26. I think we should keep harping on this, over and over. Get the wind from their sails

and make this real.

[Cygnusx2112]

27. Why the bloody hell didn't Kerry say...

"I will apologize as soon as the White House apologizes for not giving our troops sufficient body armor."

Or mention tainted drinking water.

Or any of those items cited above?

Cripes, his rolling over and apologizing reinforces the Dems as Wimps meme (false as it is).

I swear, some of our Dem Congress people should go back and take a public debating class.

[Prophet 451]

28. What's the big deal here?

OK, so Kerry (who, with the best will in the world, has never been noted for his comic timing) mangled his punchline and said something that, with some twisting of intent and a large dose of creative misunderstanding, could just about be construed as a knock on the troops. He explains what he meant and apologises to anyone who might have misunderstood him and surely, that should be an end to it?

Are the Repub's really so utterly desperate for material that they have to sieze on a non-story like this?