The first tangible fallout has hit as an Iowa Congressional candidate Brucy Braley cancels a campaign event.

Iowa candidate asks Kerry to cancel campaign visit

DES MOINES, Iowa A Democratic Congressional candidate from Iowa is canceling a campaign event later this week with Senator John Kerry.

Brucy Braley says Kerry's recent comments about the Iraq war were inappropriate.

Braley is running against Republican Mike Whalen in Iowa's First District congressional race. It's a contest considered to be one of the most competitive House races in the country.

Braley's decision to distance himself from Kerry came as a furor grew from comments Kerry made about the Iraq War during a campaign stop in California on Monday.

Kerry said if you make the most of your education, you "can do well." The Democrat went on to say that is you don't, (quote) "you get stuck in Iraq."

The remarks prompted sharp criticism from some Republicans, including President Bush and Arizona Senator John McCain.

Kerry refused to apologize.

This article asks "Did Kerry Hand Republicans a November gift?"  Even the Democrats seem to think so-

For weeks, Republicans on the campaign trail have been looking for something — anything — to talk about other than the record of the Republican Congress and the way the Bush administration has conducted the war in Iraq.

Monday, they got their wish. While stumping for local Democrats in California, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., addressed students at Pasadena City College and made a comment about education and the war in Iraq that lent itself to much controversy.

What's unclear is if Kerry's comments will help rally Republican voters or help their party portray Democrats as against the troops to score victories next Tuesday. A Democratic congressman told ABC News Tuesday, "I guess Kerry wasn't content blowing 2004, now he wants to blow 2006, too."

And this one is hard for him to ignore:

Marine's Family Urges Kerry To Learn More About Military

Senator's Comments About Iraq, Troops Draw Criticism

Shocker....Max Cleland defends John "I Apologize to no one" Kerry.

Statement of Max Cleland on John Kerry’s Response to GOP Attacks

"I think people will remember John Kerry's press conference today as the moment we Democrats stopped once and forever accepting the disgraceful smears of Republicans. John Kerry showed our Party how to fight back with the truth.

“John Kerry is a patriot who has fought tooth and nail for veterans ever since he came home from Vietnam. He has stood with his brothers in arms unlike this Administration which exploits our troops to make a political point and divide America.

“John Kerry should apologize to no one for his criticism of the President and his broken policy in Iraq. George Bush is the one who owes our troops an apology. This is text book Republican campaign tactics.

“Everybody knows it's not working this time around. If anyone thinks a veteran would criticize the more than 140,000 heroes serving in Iraq and not the president who got us stuck there, they've got a partisan political agenda and that's the bottom line. We're not going to take it any more."

Has anyone grabbed Kerry by the collar and just told him to apologize for crying out loud? 

On the other side, Bill Frist condemns:

Senator Kerry Owes Our Troops An Apology

“Education … If you make the most of it, if you study hard, if you do your homework, if you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.”  Senator John Kerry, 10/30/2006


While America’s servicemen and women are fighting and dying against our adversaries in the global War on Terror, John Kerry has the gall to criticize their intelligence, their education, and their motivation for service. His comments represent the absolute worst in Democrat scare tactics and present a grave insult to our all-volunteer Armed Forces.

More then likely, as CNN Says:

Republicans unleashed a firestorm of criticism Tuesday against Sen. John Kerry after the Vietnam veteran told college students they'd "get stuck in Iraq" if they didn't work hard in school.

Kerry later said the remark was a "botched joke" meant to target the president, not U.S. troops.

Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential candidate, spoke to students at Pasadena City College in California on Monday.

He then said: "You know, education -- if you make the most of it, you study hard and 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."

A Kerry aide told CNN that the prepared statement, which had been designed to criticize President Bush, "was mangled in delivery."

Kerry was supposed to say, "I can't overstress the importance of a great education. 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."

OK, maybe.  Let's say I buy that explanation, which is moderately plausible.  I mean by that, that I think the possibility that he is lousy at telling jokes is very likely.

The big question is this:  So what?

After the mistake, he should have clarified it and apologized, not gone on the attack against anyone who criticized what he said, and not sat there at the rally and accepted cheers from the crowd after he implied that our troops were lazy idiots.

The problem has now moved on beyond the botched joke. It has moved on to his response.

Let me be clear (and fair):  mistakes happen, so this could be true. 

But being an adult means you step up and take responsibility for it.  Even my kids know that.

All he had to say was "I screwed up the joke and I mistakenly implied something I did not intend".

Updated below

I kid you not.

Statement of John Kerry Responding to Republican Distortions, Pathetic Tony Snow Diversions and Distractions

Washington – Senator John Kerry issued the following statement in response to White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, assorted right wing nut-jobs, and right wing talk show hosts desperately distorting Kerry’s comments about President Bush to divert attention from their disastrous record:

“If anyone thinks a veteran would criticize the more than 140,000 heroes serving in Iraq and not the president who got us stuck there, they're crazy. This is the classic G.O.P. playbook. I’m sick and tired of these despicable Republican attacks that always seem to come from those who never can be found to serve in war, but love to attack those who did.

I’m not going to be lectured by a stuffed suit White House mouthpiece standing behind a podium, or doughy Rush Limbaugh, who no doubt today will take a break from belittling Michael J. Fox’s Parkinson’s disease to start lying about me just as they have lied about Iraq. It disgusts me that these Republican hacks, who have never worn the uniform of our country lie and distort so blatantly and carelessly about those who have.

The people who owe our troops an apology are George W. Bush and Dick Cheney who misled America into war and have given us a Katrina foreign policy that has betrayed our ideals, killed and maimed our soldiers, and widened the terrorist threat instead of defeating it. These Republicans are afraid to debate veterans who live and breathe the concerns of our troops, not the empty slogans of an Administration that sent our brave troops to war without body armor.

Bottom line, these Republicans want to debate straw men because they’re afraid to debate real men. And this time it won’t work because we’re going to stay in their face with the truth and deny them even a sliver of light for their distortions. No Democrat will be bullied by an administration that has a cut and run policy in Afghanistan and a stand still and lose strategy in Iraq.”

Former presidential hopeful, possible future presidential candidate, Senator, former Navy Officer...with all that experience, you might think the man would have a clue that his words are noticed, recorded and remembered.

But, no.  John was talking yesterday and started yacking and apparently turned the brain off, and went on auto pilot.

"Let's see that again in writing:“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 Iraq."

So the 100k plus soldiers in Iraq are apparently uneducated, don't make the most of it, do not study hard, and do not do homework, and make no effort to be smart...

Nice job John.  Why not insult theior mommy's too?

Now, John McCain is demanding an apology, and I fully agree.

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. Americans from all backgrounds, well off and less fortunate, with high school diplomas and graduate degrees, take seriously their duty to our country, and risk their lives today to defend the rest of us in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere.

They all deserve our respect and deepest gratitude for their service. The suggestion that only the least educated Americans would agree to serve in the military and fight in Iraq, is an insult to every soldier serving in combat, and should deeply offend any American with an ounce of appreciation for what they suffer and risk so that the rest of us can sleep more comfortably at night. Without them, we wouldn’t live in a country where people securely possess all their God-given rights, including the right to express insensitive, ill-considered and uninformed remarks.

I sit here and try to understand what he was thinking and I am just stunned.  I would be happy to dismiss this as a misquote or something, because it is the most ignorant comment I have ever heard. 

Bloggers, if you need a hosting company with 2 terabytes monthly bandwidth and 200gb of webspace for under 10 dollars a month, email me for more information. 

I blogged the South Park Steve Irwin bruhaha, and I honestly didn't think it was as big of a deal as it was being made out to be, particularly when there was quite a bit in that episode that was so much more offensive.

Even so, I wasn't prepared for the fact that someone would really use Steve Irwin's death as a Halowe'en costume.

They did.  The award goes to....Bill Maher.  Now I generally like him, though some of his comments irritate me. 

But this is somewhat disappointing.  Geez Bill, even Satan (ala South Park) thought this was a bad idea...

Best line so far is from Ian at Hot Air:

I guess the store was sold out of assclown costumes.

Well done Mate!  Make sure you wear that on your next Australian tour.

Blogged at Michelle Malkin, Wizbang, Andrew Sullivan, TGS, Perez Hilton, Hot Air, Say Anything

Ah...nothing like tolerance.

My blog was hacked earlier today.  Thanks for proving that rather then dealing with the substance of the debate, it is easier to silence the speaker.  I appreciate the lesson in free speech.

I won't point fingers at any ideological group.  It could have been a conservative as easily as a liberal, though i tend to draw more ire from liberals, so you do the math.

Well, I am back, and I am more determined then ever to expose the hypocrisies I see.

Thanks for renewing my resolve.

Karl

LSU

No, I obviously do not think this is a serious video.  It is by Zucker for crying out loud.

But it is funny.