Kerry. Oh, Kerry.

I was asked by one of the editor's over at the Picket to write up a quick 500-600 words on Kerry's idiocy (OK, it was actually put like this: "Would you be interested in writing a quick column on John Kerry's verbal mistake?"). Obviously the editor--like all but one of them--is very far left. Here's what I had to say, though the column will not appear in "the press" until next Tuesday or Wednesday:

It is hard to assess who has been the Republicans’ biggest friend this year, Howard Dean or John Kerry. One thing is for sure though, whenever one of these guys beings to speak, Karl Rove and Ken Mehlman can bank on it hurting the Democrats. The latest round of “open mouth, insert foot” comes courtesy of John Kerry. In his speech on October 31, 2006, John Kerry said, “You know, education, if you make the most if it, study hard and do your homework and make an effort to be smart, you do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.” The remarks have been met with utter disdain from both sides of the political isle, yet Kerry refuses to acknowledge that he has done anything wrong. Instead, he opts to suggest that his verbal blunder was a “botched” joke about President Bush, rather than a blatant insult of our troops.

The idea that Kerry would challenge Mr. Bush’s intelligence is also humorous. If we are to believe that Kerry’s remarks were somehow a botched joke aimed at questioning the intelligence and/or success of President Bush, then it would be fair to assess this joke in one simple word: bad. For Kerry to call Bush unintelligent is in and of itself a joke when we consider that, according to a 2005 Boston Globe article, Bush’s academic record at Yale comes in just ahead of Kerry’s, though both of them were merely ‘C’ students. When we couple this with the fact that the ‘unintelligent’ and therefore ‘unsuccessful’ Bush defeated Kerry in the 2004 election, it seems safe to say that Kerry himself is the real joke.

For fairly obvious reasons, the Republican Party has sharply criticized Kerry for both his statements and his refusal to apologize. Arizona Republican Senator John McCain demanded an apology from Kerry, “Senator Kerry owes an apology to the many thousands of Americans serving in Iraq, who answered their country’s call because they are patriots and not because of any deficiencies in their education.” President Bush echoed McCain’s sentiments, adding, “The men and women who serve in our all-volunteer Armed Forces are plenty smart and are serving because they are patriots -- and Senator Kerry owes them an apology.” While both McCain and Bush certainly are justified in their indignation, it is difficult for me to believe that even John Kerry, of whom I am certainly no friend, would purposely criticize the soldiers just days before a midterm election in such a public manner. However, I must say that I cannot completely rule out the possibility that Kerry committed a Freudian slip, revealing to the public what he truly thinks about our men and women in the armed service.

It has been touted that the Republicans’ are attempting to politicize Kerry’s statement in order to “avoid discussion of the issues.” Aside from the fact that criticism of the troops is itself an issue, we must ask what, then, is the motivation behind Kerry’s fellow Democrats criticizing his statements?" Montana’s Democratic candidate John Tester criticized Kerry’s remarks as, “were poorly worded and just plain stupid." He, along with candidates in Pennsylvania and in Iowa have dropped Kerry from their list of campaign speakers.

Whether the last in a string of “2006 October Surprises” will have any impact at the polls on November 7th won’t truly be seen until next week, it has reiterated the importance of the election. It has highlighted the difference between Democrats and Republicans. Where Republicans are clearly on the side of the United States Armed Forces, the Democrats and their failed 2004 candidate are “questionable at best.”

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