Kerry's Problem - The 'Fight Club' Dems

Via Glenn we see Howard Kurtz asking a seemingly sensible question about John Kerry's "stuck in Iraq" gaffe:

Why couldn't the Massachusetts senator have climbed out of the hole he fell into by just apologizing for saying something stupid, rather than getting out a shovel and digging?

Well, he can't - as a Fight Club Democrat, Kerry has embraced the message of the Nutroots as to how to deal with any and every attack- "Never give in.  Never surrender!".

This approach does not leave one a lot of latitude for picking one's battlefields, and produces the ridiculous result seen here - Kerry defending his botched joke, blaming his listeners for responding to exactly what he said and blasting them for failing to grasp the subtle nuance of what he meant to say, but didn't.

And yet the Great and Powerful Kos approves!  Mission accomplished, Tall One - the Nutroots luv ya!  Fight, fight, fight!

Let me continue with Howard Kurtz:

There isn't anybody, including in the Bush administration, who believes that Kerry meant to insult the soldiers in Iraq with his clumsy joke that has given the Republicans a big fat target after months on the defensive. But the words he uttered, in his clumsy fashion, were insulting, and he should have moved quickly to limit the damage.

I respectfully disagree as to what people may have believed, especially prior to the release of the director's cut of Kerry's intended "joke".  That means I respectfully disagree with LaShawn Barber as well. 

I'll grant that I did not believe that Kerry's quip was well-considered.  But given his personal history with the Winter Soldier testimony, as well as for reasons cited here under "FROM HOTLINE", I can't say it was clear to me that Kerry was not accidentally revealing a secret he would prefer to carry quietly in his heart, to wit, enlisting is for losers.

Let's put it another way - how do you ask a man to be the last man to enlist for a mistake?  Is it really implausible that Republicans might believe that Democrats such as Kerry secretly believe that enlisting in order to go off and serve in Bush's wrong and irrelevant war is a bad choice?  Sure, I would not expect Kerry to say so, but we are talking about John Kerry here - who knows what toads might hop out of his mouth from one moment to the next?

UPDATE:  Classic "right wing nutjobs" from the Corner; Memeorandum is All Kerry; great photo from AllahPundit.

And our Secret Sources have already gotten a look at Kerry's next scripted quip:

'They all laughed when I said I wanted to be a comedian. They're not laughing now.'

UNRELENTING:  How do you ask a man to be the last man to apologize for his mistake?  Kerry finally states the obvious:

As a combat veteran, I want to make it clear to anyone in uniform and to their loved ones: my poorly stated joke at a rally was not about, and never intended to refer to any troop.

I sincerely regret that my words were misinterpreted to wrongly imply anything negative about those in uniform, and I personally apologize to any service member, family member, or American who was offended.

It is clear the Republican Party would rather talk about anything but their failed security policy. I don’t want my verbal slip to be a diversion from the real issues. I will continue to fight for a change of course to provide real security for our country, and a winning strategy for our troops.

I remain unconvinced that his spoken words were "misinterpreted" but whatever.

HE WAS FOR MORE TROOPS BEFORE HE WAS AGAINST IT: John Kerry displays his well-trained Yale intellect with Don Imus as he grapples with the correct troop level in Iraq:

KERRY: These guys have failed America.  The people who owe an apology are people like Donald Rumsfeld, who didn’t send enough troops, who didn’t listen to the generals, who has made every mistake in the book.

...John McCain has been a cheerleader for a policy that is incorrect. John McCain says we ought to send another 100,000 troops over there. First of all, we don’t have another 100,000 troops. Secondly, if you send them over there, it’s going to do exactly what’s already happened, which is attract more terrorists and more jihadists. Our own generals are telling us that it’s the numbers of troops that are the problem.

Huh?  I am not smart enough to figure that out... guess I ought to enlist.

PILING ON: More photo fun - Kerry has a book out.

Comments

[Good Lt]

"who knows what toads might hop out of his mouth from one moment to the next?"

Did you know that John Kerry served in Vietnam? And that Glenn Greenwald had a NYTimes bestseller?

Good DAY, sir.

[shaman]

This will all backfire on the Rethugs.
Enjoy the backbench after Nov. 7th.

[hit and run]

how do you ask a man to be the last man to enlist for a mistake

Or perhaps this in relation to dems having to choose whether to defend, denounce or ignore Kerry.....

How do you ask a candidate to be the last man to die at the polls for Kerry's mistake?

[Don]

If you idiots had pressed Bush to fight the war better as hard as you jump Kerry's ass to speak better, you wouldn't be about to lose one, probably both, houses of Congress-over the war in Iraq.

A week before the midterms-and this is the issue you want to run on?!

It's goddamn scary.

[Neo]

“You know, education, if you make the most of it, if you study hard and you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, uh, you, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in [fill in the blank].”

Iraq This option seems to have two interpretations: 1) you end up in the military and are sent to Iraq or 2) you become the POTUS and make bad decisions. Either way, the real problem here is not just that John Kerry said this poorly delivered joke, but that he even ever thought that it was funny. The first case shows disrespect for the military, a position that John Kerry himself was part of, and the seconds case shows disrespect for the office of POTUS, a position that John Kerry seems to want. Both seem to show that John Kerry hates himself or at least what he has been and wants to become.

saying it wasn't deliberate, but you should apologize anyway
To start, John Kerry should look into a mirror and apologize to himself for being such a sorry SOB.

Walmart This would have been the PC option or at least will fly well in Democratic circles.

McDonalds This option is widely known to be true.

[SunnyDay]

wo wo wo the moonbats are out in full force. BWAHAHAHAHA

reporters in the WH presser defending Kerry - it's hilarious. After implying that Cheney deliberately shot someone, they attack the WH for taking Kerry's words literally?

The words say what the words say. They came out of Kerry's mouth.

I love Kerry. Please Lord, let him run for president again.

[Good Lt]

Did anyone hear Susanne Malvo on CNN slipping up saying that "one can HOPE..er..think this might go away"? McCaffrey's lamenting?

Or former Moynihan (D) Cheif of StaffTim Russert complaining that Democrats lost two news cycles that could've been used to propagate DNC talking points?

The media bobbleheads are twisting like pretzels over this, because Kerry threw a monkey wrench into their planned final week anti-GOP blitz. Poor widdle babies. They media chose to back the Kerry 2004 horse, and now they're sinking in its manure.

Its a delight to watch.

[Good Lt]

That one was for shaman and Don.

XOXO :-)

[Sue]

who knows what toads might hop out of his mouth from one moment to the next?

::grin::

as hard as you jump Kerry's ass to speak better

Well now I'm confused. Here I've been under the impression it was your side that claimed Bush couldn't speak better. I didn't know you also thought Kerry couldn't speak better too. Amazing what you find out when Kerry opens his mouth and toads hop out.

[roanoke]

Ga!

Kerry King O'The Fight Club Democrats!

Perfection.

I think in the future he might have to wrestle Dean for the title.

[Don]

Did you morons see what happened in Iraq yesterday?

We stood down per Maliki's orders. We called off an attempt to retrieve a kidnapped soldier because Maliki's buddies were the ones who kidnapped him.

And you just want to argue about kerry. it's delusional.

[clarice]

TM, Is this as good for you as it is for me?

He didn't apologize because it is exactly what he meant, it is consistent with his entire political career, and he can't understand why real people find it offensive. He's been told it is a disaster, so rather than facing up to his own out of touchness, he's having a narcissistic rage in which it's everyone else's fault.
Prick poseur pricked self.

[roanoke]

Don-

We know you only get "gutsy" when declaring war on Republicans.

Why don't you go and petition your hero Kerry to "revise and extent" his remarks.

If you are lucky maybe he'll come out of hiding and call Kim Jong-Il "doughy"....

[clarice]

http://www.photopile.com/photos/dead/auctions/273904.gif

[Sue]

Did you morons see what happened in Iraq yesterday?

Look, asshat, I really don't have anything to say to you. I just wanted to return the favor of calling you a name.

[rjarango]

Ya gotta love it--you know the dems are worrying because: (1) the nutroots think this was a good thing; and (2)every dem in a close race has either disinvited Lurch or dissed him. It is nice to know there are a few smart dems out there--and where did all the moonbats come from today? DU/KOS/Puffington? trying for damage control? Maroons all.

[roanoke]

Sue-

The Democratic "game" plan for fighting terrortwits-

Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!

[roanoke]

Run away!

[shaman]

I second what Don said.

Fear the backlash,Rethugs,you're chortling over a comment taken out of context on purpose.
Sort of like the intelligence that got us in this quagmire to begin with.
Can't you guys interpret anything right.

[Patton]

Kerry: Says something stupid, insestive and cruel.

Rush/Bush: Repeats what Kerry said.

Kerry: Proclaims them repeating what he said is a Rove dirty trick.

Media: Why is Rove pulling all these dirty tricks?

[Fermor Hair Farce Saargent]

Anyone every hear someone in the Lamestream media say:

Gee, all Trent Lott was doing was humoring a 100 year old man on what will probably be his last birthday on this earth, get over it. Move On!

[Patton]

The Democrats problem now is they recurited so many fake conservatives to run in right leaning districts. They have to take Kerry to the woodshed at least until the media can pull their nuts out of the fire with another made up scandal.

[clarice]

Psst..I have copies of salacious IMs Kerry sent to himself.

[Pagar]

Day after day we set here and watch the leftists send their messages to America's enemies, just like they did in Vietnam: Just hold on, as soon as Democrats win the elections, you'll be safe. The funding will be cut, you can kill anyone who dared dream of freedom, who thought democracy could work, who dared support America, and it'll be just like Vietnam. America's leftists
couldn't care less about Iraq, they want to destroy America. Same leftists, different country, but the end goal is always the same.

[Pofarmer]

Kerry defending his botched joke,

you're chortling over a comment taken out of context on purpose.

I've heard botched jokes. I've even delivered a few of them.

I've seen plenty of the administration comments taken out of context.

What this is with Kerry is neither.

So, yes, it is rather important to the election, as it defines the Dem's position on "supporting the troops" to a "T".

[Tom Maguire]

If you don’t, you get stuck in [fill in the blank].”

... in the US Senate voting in support of wars in which you don't believe.

TM, Is this as good for you as it is for me?

That depends on whether you laugh out loud during... well, whatever.

The picture Drudge is running right now is priceless: US troops with a big sign reading "Halp us Jon Carry - we R stuck hear N Irak".

And Drudge has every Dem who has cancelled a Kerry appearance - Iowa, Tester in Montana, Casey in PA - quel clown.

[azredneck]

Don: I did see what happened in Iraq yesterday. Now that Ramadan is over, the US casualty rate has dropped significantly for the past 5 days. Thank you for joining us in celebrating that! We pray that the low level continues.

[Pofarmer]

We stood down per Maliki's orders.

Kind of undercuts all the "imperialist", "colonialist", etc, etc, etc, bullshit don't it? It's their country, after all.

[Pofarmer]

US troops with a big sign reading "Halp us Jon Carry - we R stuck hear N Irak".

Now that made me laugh out loud.

5 years ago that statement would have been purged from the memory banks, never to be heard from again.

[Pofarmer]

Dangit

[Don]

I don't know what you're talking about redneck-two soldiers were killed yesterday and a bomb killing over 20 just exploded in Baghdad.

[Larry]

A week before the midterms-and this is the issue you want to run on?! Posted by: Don | November
01, 2006 at 09:21 AM This is the issue. The left-elitist contempt for anything martial. This is the vile, despicable piece of s*** the dems last nominated to run for president, thus at least nominally the head of the party. That should speak volumes to everyone. His refusal to apologize to his brothers and sisters in arms exposes him as incredibly politically stupid, too.

[Neo]

John Kerry speaks from experience.

"it turns out that their grades while undergraduate students at Yale were remarkably similar. In fact, Bush's were a tad higher. His four-year average was 77; Kerry's 76. Both were C students."

So much for the nuance.

[ed]

Hmmm.

*I do not believe that Kerry either mis-spoke or that his remarks were directed at Bush and not American soldiers.*

Why? Review the video. Immediately after Kerry finishes his lame quip there arises a series of nervous laughs and a number of people gasping in shock.

If Kerry really were trying to deliver a joke wouldn't the fact that people were gasping be an indication that he didn't come across as he had intended?

If Kerry really had directed this lame "joke" at President Bush, to an audience of liberal college students no less, wouldn't the fact that a number of people in the audience were gasping shock tell Kerry he did something wrong? Is this audience one to gasp at attacks on Bush? Didn't Kerry just spend several minutes prior to his infamous "joke" attacking Bush in a number of different ways? Did the audience gasp after each one?

...

There is nothing to support the assertion that Kerry was either telling a joke or targeting President Bush. What did happen was that Kerry spoke aloud what he really thought.

[TexasToast]

Party on folks - but the silver lining for us folks in the Democratic Party is the resurgence of democratic moderates like Ford, Tester, Casey and McCaskill. The democrats are moving to the center and it appears that the center is moving to the democrats. Kerry has capsized his own boat, and despite Appalled Moderate's "axis of coastal elites", a moderate democrat probably has the best chance at the Democratic nomination.

Hip Hip Hooray! :)

Stealing from AM again, I'm sure its "laugh out loud" good to have some fun in the form of that good ole Kerry piñata in light of the Central Command PowerPoint presentation and the Maliki order to "stand down" around Sadr City. For supporters of GWB's Excellent Adventure, those must really hurt.

[clarice]

How can we believe that he says screwing up college will make you a President who makes bad choices when (a) Bush didn't screw up college and (b)in fact, outperformed the speaker there?

Hanson leaves no stone unturned:
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=YmEzZGYwYzk0ZDE3YTM0NjY4MmY3Nzg3NDNjNzM5MjY=

I think that the media coverage of this is just making people angrier and they are more certain to vote and vote Rep because of this anger.

Hundreds of front page macaca and Trent lottarama and this they want to bury and excuse?

Early voting in the red parts of Tenn and N.C. is at a very high level.

[Patton]

Kerry is moving to the left to get the nomination. He is saying what the Nutroots want to hear.

You spend too much time in a left wing bubble, you sound pretty mean spirited when you re-enter society.

[Exraneus]

I think Bush let Kerry off too easy at that rally in GA yesterday. He could have mentioned something more along the lines of "This wasn't Kerry's first or even second time trashing the troops, so it's hard to take him seriously when he asks us to believe we're misinterpreting his words." I think that could have given the story a little more bite and staying power, since pundits would have had to address the other instances at least peripherally, rather than be able to get away with trying to explain what Kerry really meant.

[Gabriel Sutherland]

Don: Link us to a story. Give us a chance to understand your point of view before you declare us "delusional".

Kerry voted for the Democrats before he voted against them.

You do wish that one of the stage people behind carry were mouthing the words "what did he just say?" That might top what the current troop picture is doing via Drudge.

[Cecil Turner]

I see drudge's "Stuck in Irak" photo grew a bit. I suspect we're going to see that one again. And who knows, this story might have legs. (Especially if Kerry continues to refuse to apologize, whilst Dem Senate prospects call for him to do so.)

[Gabriel Sutherland]

Cecil: I'm foreshadowing tomorrow's Daily Nutroots headline.

Rove orders Bush to order Rumsfeld to order Gen. Casey to order US Troops in Iraq to make a sign

[Neo]

Memeorandum has a story indicating that John Kerry apologized on MSNBC, but since I took MSNCB off my TVs so I could avoid Keith 'madman" Oberman, I would not have seen it.

[clarice]

AP's Nedra Pickler or whatever the name of this wife of a Dem operative pretended to find an apology in Kerry's words, but it is invisible to everyone else.

[Don]

Wow. Even on a day when the NYT published leaked classified info, you keep your head stuck in the sand!

Just curious-when the Repubs lose Congress-what will your explanation be?

[rjarango]

Don--my explanation will be that the Republican party lost the confidence of the voters. If the democrats fail to gain both houses of congress, what will your explanation be?

[Sue]

The democrats are moving to the center and it appears that the center is moving to the democrats.

Funny how that works. A moderate democrat is not much different than a moderate republican. A moderate democrat will not vote for impeachment. At least you have realized what the nuts in the left don't seem to get. They lose everytime a moderate is nominated and elected.

[Gabriel Sutherland]

Don: Throw me a lifeline over here. Link me to your stories if you want me to understand you.

You asked, "Just curious-when the Repubs lose Congress-what will your explanation be?"

A: Republicans didn't get enough votes.

What a silly question. Links, post some links, URLs, heck just post the story if you want to.

[Don]

That the majority of Americans have no confidence in the Dems. That said-it sure as hell looks like Repubs are going down.

It's stupid games like this with Kerry while Centcom says Iraq is approaching chaos that have caused Americans to lose confidence imho.

[Don]

Quite a deep thinker you are Sutherland.

Do you explain that we're losing in Iraq because we're getting shot at?

[Gabriel Sutherland]

Go to the numbers.

Bush approval ratings = low
Congress approval ratings = low
US Miliatry approval ratings = high
US soldier approval ratings = high

It makes perfect logical sense that John Kerry should attack the US military and the US soldier.