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Kerry's 'Botched Joke' Missed Punch Line
Democratic Sen. John Kerry apologized Wednesday for a "botched joke" that had drawn fire from President Bush and dominated debate in the last days of a bitter fight for control of Congress.
Kerry said his remarks about Iraq troops to a college crowd in California were aimed at Bush, not the military, and canceled campaign appearances on behalf of Democratic candidates to avoid becoming a bigger distraction.
Polls ahead of Tuesday's congressional elections show Democrats are poised to win power in the House of Representatives for the first time since 1994 and could threaten Republican control of the Senate.
Kerry told the students that if they studied hard they could do well, but if they didn't "you get stuck in Iraq." His office said he neglected to add the punch line: "Just ask President Bush."
"I said it was a botched joke. Of course, I'm sorry about a botched joke," Kerry, who had refused to apologize on Tuesday, said on the "Imus in the Morning" radio show on MSNBC.
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Bush and his Republicans, eager to switch the campaign debate from the war in Iraq and questions about Bush's leadership, seized on the remarks as an illustration of why Democrats should not be trusted with national security.
"He is a liberal, a leftist, and this is the typical attitude they have toward our military," House Republican Leader John Boehner said on Fox News. "It goes to show you what liberal Democrats would do if they were to take control of the House and Senate."
Democrats must pick up 15 House seats and six Senate seats to gain control of both chambers.
A series of Reuters/Zogby polls released Wednesday showed Democrats leading in 12 of 15 key House districts polled. Democrats are favored in several other races not polled. Another three dozen House races are considered competitive. Voter disillusionment with the Iraq war, Bush's leadership and the Republican-led Congress have fueled the Democratic surge this year. Republicans rushed to change the topic and draw attention to the comments by Kerry.
"The senator's suggestion that the men and women of our military are somehow uneducated is insulting and it is shameful," Bush told a campaign rally in Georgia Tuesday.
Kerry, a decorated Vietnam veteran who lost the 2004 presidential race to Bush after his military record was questioned, reacted angrily to the Republican attacks and initially refused to apologize.
White House spokesman Tony Snow said Kerry's failure to do so Tuesday was the reason it blew up into a broader debate.
"We're not the one who whipped this up into a big issue. Senator Kerry did so yesterday. He's the guy who put the gasoline on the fire," Snow said on CBS.
For voters, the Kerry flap had the familiar ring of the 2004 presidential campaign. The Massachusetts Democrat is not running for any office this year but is a possible 2008 presidential contender.
"I'm not offended, but this is why John Kerry lost the election," said Jana Cook, a 43-year-old advertising executive and mother of two in Olathe, Kansas. "He was perceived as an elitist and those are the kind of statements an elitist makes."
Democrats were eager to move on with the campaign. Democratic Rep. Harold Ford Jr., embroiled in a tight Tennessee Senate race with Republican Bob Corker, criticized Kerry but said there were bigger issues.
"Whatever the intent, Senator Kerry was wrong to say what he said. He needs to apologize to our troops," Ford said in a statement. "However, Senator Kerry's words don't alter the fact that the stay-the-course strategy pursued by President Bush and supported by Bob Corker isn't working."
(c) Reuters 2006. All rights reserved.
Editor's note:
Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics: Inside Cover Stories
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