Okay. Kerry can't tell a joke, won't apologize for the misunderstanding, and Republicans rejoice and cheer.
This veteran of the Vietnam War said, in a speech that was supposed to be about education, that if you don't study hard and get a good education, you could end up stuck in Iraq. Oh, so funny. The soldiers in Iraq are stupid! Wait. What? Cue the uproar.
What was actually written for Kerry to say(and what Tony Snow couldn't seem to figure out), was that if you don't study hard, etc., you could end up getting US stuck in Iraq. Like the president did, right? Oh my dog! So funny! Ha! The president sucked in school. He's stupid. Ha ha.
Ah, what might have been (if it had actually been a good joke as written). Kerry's omission of 'us' gave the Republicans just what they needed. Forget about Cheney's bad jokes abour armor for the soldiers in Iraq, or Bush's bad joke about having 'too much fun' in New Orleans, which he made in a speech directly following Hurricane Katrina. Kerry left out 'us'! And his joke came out as an offensive cut to the people risking their lives for nothing (my opinion, of course).
Yes, you've all heard this before. So why am I writing this? Well, because I heard the news from my 12 year old student at 8 am the morning after he made the remark. Only this is what she said: "Did you hear that John Kerry said the troops in Iraq are stupid?"
I was so flustered. I didn't know what to do. This is a private tutoring company I work for. These people are paying A LOT of money to have me and others like me tutor their kids. So here I'm thinking: How much of my opinion can I let through without her talking to her parents about this?
I couldn't help myself. I said, "I'm sure he didn't say that. Who told you this?"
"It's on the news and stuff."
"I don't think that's true. You should probably check that."
And then we wen
t on with our work. I was too flustered to add that Kerry is a veteran and that it is possible to support our troops without supporting the president or the reason behind the war. I wish I had known about it beforehand - my RSS feeds failed me!
t on with our work. I was too flustered to add that Kerry is a veteran and that it is possible to support our troops without supporting the president or the reason behind the war. I wish I had known about it beforehand - my RSS feeds failed me!Anyway, I just thought it was interesting and sad. Sometimes, I just don't want to know who the parents are of the people I'm teaching. I'm scared.
1 comment:
I don't care what your resume looks like, just because he fought in Vietnam does not make him a great politician. This man has Dukakised the hell out of the Democrats time and time again. How he ever made it as a senator on a national level is beyond me. I'm almost glad he didn't win in 2004 (I hated voting for him) because most of this would've happened anyways and I really think he lacks the leadership skills to really come out ahead on it. Better Bush took the fall for it and lets the Dems com in strong for 08. The man is political dead weight.
(I just want to make sure you know I respect him and all of his accomplishments. I just think he's a mediocre politician and not really cut out for the big dance.)
Dave
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