[Dan]

Originally Posted by Talkhard

If he wasn't talking about the troops, the comment makes no sense. Bush is not only as well-educated as Kerry, he actually had a higher grade-point average at Yale than Kerry did.

Maybe what Kerry should have said is, "If you don't study hard enough, you end up saying all kinds of stupid things in public and losing the presidency."

I dont know what you mean here. Al Gore won the popular vote in 2000.

[Minstrel]

Originally Posted by Talkhard

If he wasn't talking about the troops, the comment makes no sense. Bush is not only as well-educated as Kerry, he actually had a higher grade-point average at Yale than Kerry did.

Maybe what Kerry should have said is, "If you don't study hard enough, you end up saying all kinds of stupid things in public and losing the presidency."

It would be a pretty typical "Bush is stupid" joke. I never said it was well-founded, but it "makes sense" insofar as it's a mainstream view of Bush. I think it makes more sense that Kerry would be going for such a joke rather than making a statement that he, himself, is proof against.

[Talkhard]

Originally Posted by Minstrel

I think it makes more sense that Kerry would be going for such a joke rather than making a statement that he, himself, is proof against.

Actually, he's not "proof" against the statement. He could very easily be the exception to the rule--a well-educated, upper class white guy who served in Vietnam (albeit for only 4 months) alongside all of those other poor minority fools who had no other options. In other words, his record as a military guy and the fact that MOST soldiers are poor and uneducated are not mutually exclusive.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if Kerry believes that the majority of guys in Iraq are poorly educated. As one poster has already pointed out, that is a widely held opinion on the left.

And while we're at it, what would it say about Kerry's intelligence and command of the English language if he actually did botch this joke so badly? Yikes!

[Talkhard]

Kerry has announced that he is cancelling all campaign appearances today because he doesn't want to be a "distraction." Heh, heh.

The truth is, the dims are running from him like rats from a sinking ship. He's just reminded the country that democrats actually despise our military and have accused them of being thugs, criminals, and morons. Thanks, Ketchup Boy! You're the best October Surprise the Republicans could have gotten!

[Blazer Ringbearer]

I'm sure that everyone who is unsatisfied with the current state of our government will change their minds at the last minute because John Freaking Kerry said something stupid...

This is not news.

The guy botched his speech and put his foot in his mouth. If that sort of thing was enough to sway an election, then Bush would have lost by 20 points in '98 and '02. What Kerry needs to understand is that Bush has a very hard job and he shouldn't criticize him so much.

"You know, one of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror." --George W. Bush, interview with CBS News' Katie Couric, Sept. 6, 2006

[Talkhard]

Originally Posted by Blazer Ringbearer

This is not news.

Oh, yeah? The Democrats sure think it is.

A Democratic congressman told ABC News Tuesday, "I guess Kerry wasn't content blowing 2004, now he wants to blow 2006, too."

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=2619383&page=2

[2k]

Another Bush gem is

"See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda."

I'm willing to give Kerry a pass seeing how he was an Ivy League vet. Kerry couldn’t down enough laxatives to loosen his bowels enough to defecate on the American soldier nearly as swell as the Bush Administration and that’s a fact.

[Talkhard]

Originally Posted by 2k

I'm willing to give Kerry a pass seeing how he was an Ivy League vet. Kerry couldn’t down enough laxatives to loosen his bowels enough to defecate on the American soldier nearly as swell as the Bush Administration and that’s a fact.

Hardly. Kerry was the guy who called his fellow soldiers in Vietnam rapists and baby killers. He also participated in publishing a book called The New Soldier that showed the U.S. flag hanging upside down, and a bunch of hippies raising the flag on Iwo Jima.

He's spit all over the U.S. military more than once, and this latest statement only reveals his true colors. The guy is an elitist, and he thinks he's better than the run-of-the-mill soldier.

[Blazer Ringbearer]

Originally Posted by Talkhard

Oh, yeah? The Democrats sure think it is.


http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=2619383&page=2

Didn't see the quote in the story. Regardless of what some anonymous Democrat said, I truly believe it's a non-issue. And I believe the entire Foley scandal was a non-issue in the overall scheme of things.

When it comes down to it, people are going to vote their conscience and we'll probably see a large increase in seats for Democrats. People are going to vote based on the merits of the individual candidates, the issues they care about, and their feelings on how the nation is being run.

This he said, she said soundbite BS is just that, IMO. It's a way to keep the 24 hour news hype machine organization going...

[Minstrel]

Originally Posted by Talkhard

And while we're at it, what would it say about Kerry's intelligence and command of the English language if he actually did botch this joke so badly? Yikes!

About as much as 1 error says compared to hundreds of errors.

One happens to everyone. The other speaks to incompetence. It's a fairly clear concept.

[Blazer Ringbearer]

Originally Posted by Talkhard

Kerry was the guy who called his fellow soldiers in Vietnam rapists and baby killers.

Link please.

My understanding was that he did not label his fellow soldiers as rapists and baby killers, but instead pointed out that there were soldiers who were, in fact, raping people and killing babies.

If you can provide a link to substantiate him generalizing Vietnam Vets in this way, please do. Otherwise, those are some pretty misleading and slanderous remarks.

I mean, unless you feel that he made up the fact that people were being raped by soldiers and babies being killed, what do you think he did wrong?

Should we have stayed the course in Vietnam?

[Minstrel]

Kerry testified that there were atrocities taking place in Vietnam, perpetrated by members of the US army. He never suggested it was the majority or anything more than rogue criminals.

It was an important thing that Kerry did, especially when one considers tragedies like Mi-Lai and how important it was to rein in such horrific behaviour.

It's just standard lies/distortions by Kerry's political enemies that imply he hates soliders and betrayed his fellow veterans. And, unfortunately, some people are so determined to hate opposing candidates that they uncriticially swallow such lies.

[Talkhard]

Originally Posted by Blazer Ringbearer

Didn't see the quote in the story.

See the very last paragraph, on the second page of the story. ABC buried it because they knew it was damaging.

When it comes down to it, people are going to vote their conscience

Agreed, but you're overlooking the X factor--voter turnout. It's these kinds of statements by the left that rally the conservative base and motivate them to get to the polls on voting day.