GOP: Doin' The Twist Again genre: Six Degrees of Speculation
The GOP is attempting to take remarks made by John Kerry on Monday in California and turn them into a campaign advantage...one they desperately need given the lack of any favorable news during the last few weeks. I've included a copy of the video clip being distributed across the internet by right leaning blogs that are attempting to make this a major campaign issue. The following quotation contains the actual words spoken by the Senator and I've followed that quote with my own interpretation...one that actually makes more sense than the one attempted by the GOP.
Quote From Senator Kerry:
"You know education...if you make the most of it...you study hard; you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well...if you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."
In two places I highlighted the use of the word "you" because understanding who "you" is becomes the key to understanding which person Senator Kerry is speaking about and also to whom his remarks are directed. Clearly, he is pointing out that the President (the first you) didn't study the facts, didn't do his homework, didn't make an effort to be smart...all of which resulted in his (the second you) being "stuck" in Iraq.
Any other interpretation simply doesn't make sense. No doubt the wording could have been better...but there is also no doubt that the Senator had no motivation to criticize our military seven days before the election...and every reason to criticize the President's failed Iraq effort.
In fact, Kerry's office released the actual text of the prepared remarks which clearly show who the Senator was speaking about. The text was as follows:
"Do you know where you end up if you don't study, if you aren't smart, if you're intellectually lazy? You end up getting us stuck in a war in Iraq. Just ask President Bush."
End of story!
Senator Kerry's Remarks Yesterday
Update: Kerry Responds To Criticism
Daniel DiRito | October 31, 2006 | 12:55 PM
Comments
1 On October 31, 2006 at 2:23 PM, Jim Graves wrote —
Nice try to cover for Lurch but it won't work.
Those of us who are Veterans (and I was Marine 0311 rifleman in Vietnam) have always known what he thought of servicemen so we know exactly who he meant by "you."
2 On October 31, 2006 at 3:13 PM, Tom wrote —
He said it was a botched joke, can you tell how
the joke would have went if he hadn't botched it?
You will probably say that he meant to say the President wasn't to smart and he stuck the country
in Iraq. How, seeing that the President had better grades then Kerry is that a joke? John
Kerry is a botched joke.
He said it and it is obvious that he meant it.
You can't admit that.
3 On November 1, 2006 at 11:36 AM, Lily Maskew wrote —
George W. Bush did get better grades than John Kerry THE FIRST YEAR at college. John Kerry subseuently improved his grades for a better overall GPA. It is easy to distort things all out of proportion. Nobody better say anything at all for fear of certain reprisal.
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