When Your Teammate Fumbles the Ball You Pick It Up

So, ok, Kerry screwed up and said something stupid. Get an education, or you may wind up in Iraq. He apologized, as he should, it was clearly a joke gone bad. But some Democrats don't seem to get how the game is played.

When asked about it your formula is something like this.

"Thanks for bringing that up Jane. Clearly John Kerry can't tell a joke to save his life and I'm glad he apologized for his gaffe, but the real question is why 3,000 troops have died in Iraq, in a war where they were supposed to be greated with flowers. Perhaps a little more concern for the troops real welfare and less worry about a war hero who flubs his lines."

Or what Massa said:

Randy Kuhl's so-called challenge is nonsense. Our fighting men and women in Iraq are the finest force in the world, but they’re stuck with weak and dishonest civilian leadership. Randy Kuhl has done nothing to support the troops, and just toes the Washington line about 'staying the course.' General John Batiste characterized Kuhl and his position as 'uninformed' and 'lacking moral courage.' Enough said."

Massa added, "George Bush and John Kerry and Randy Kuhl have had their chance and failed to bring home either victory or the troops. It's time for a change down in Washington, and change is coming on Tuesday."

Vary that up a bit. Don't throw your own people under the bus.

(Kerry's intended joke, by the way, was apparently this: "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.")

There is far too much talking about form "ooh, look what he said" and far too little discussion of substance "oh, look what he did/will do" in US politics. When I cover a Canadian election I write over half my stories about policy issues, and they matter. In a US campaign I don't think I've ever written more than 3 policy articles other than economic articles I would have written anyway. No one cares, no one even discusses it.

The issue isn't John Kerry's bad joke. The issue is George Bush losing a bloody war and the Republican Senate and House refusing to do anything about it. 650,000 dead Iraqis (or choose a number you prefer), over 3,000 dead American soldiers and over 20,000 soldiers who have been badly injured, many disabled for life, or with permanent brain damage. That's the goddamn issue.

Ian Welsh November 1, 2006 - 3:55pm

Ian Welsh's diary | printer friendly version |

The Uncivil Civil War That Wasn't A Civil War

I find it interesting that the Bush administration wants to focus on the words of a Senator on the campaign trail in California while virtually every intelligent observer believes that the "stay the course" effort in Iraq is putting our troops in harms way.

If the President is actually concerned for our troops, why doesn't he admit his administration's mistakes and focus his energy on crafting a new war strategy rather than a new political strategy...but that would require him to be less concerned with political power and more concerned with protecting our troops...troops he enjoys waving around like a cheap campaign sign when he thinks that will win him votes...the same troops that died in near record numbers in October in a war the President declared we had won more than two years ago.

Read more here:

www.thoughttheater.com

Daniel DiRito November 1, 2006 - 4:34pm

Necessity

I find it interesting that the Bush administration wants to focus on the words of a Senator

My understanding is that it was on Fox and on CNN. Thus Republicans needed to react to it by spinning. There are some weak points in the spin: Nobody really believes that upper class kids end to Iraq. And Republicans have difficulties in spinning on Iraq war without saying 'Iraq War'. When they say 'Iraq War' they always lose voters.

Obviously Kerry's political babbling is weak because he is better when he mixes his lines. Bush replied with 'respect-to-soldiers' line. Has either of these guys bothered to participate any of the funerals.

-- 101 ways to avoid the subjunctive mood

Gandalf November 1, 2006 - 5:29pm

Kerry has attended quite a

Kerry has attended quite a number of funerals. To the best of my knowledge (and a google search) Bush has not attended even one.

Ian Welsh November 1, 2006 - 5:34pm

Then

now it is the perfect time to use the funerals as ammunition towards Bush.

-- 101 ways to avoid the subjunctive mood

Gandalf November 2, 2006 - 9:54am

Ya, so and what was not true about

what Kerry said. Is it not refreshing for a change? Really he should have let the cat completely out of the bag. All of this Patriotic flag waving bullshit and Homeland Security, total crap.
www.spp.gov Yup the federal government has a program underway to merge with Mexico and Canada by 2010. Does the Army get new uniforms then? When do we get paid in Ameros. Can't even fathom why Dems don't take this easily available information and use it to shove this Patriot bullshit right back down the Neo-cons blood sucking throats.
Why, A Skull Above Any Other. Alex Jones, you are closer to the truth every day.

Lasthorseman November 1, 2006 - 4:59pm

agreement

I happened to agree with Kerry, and found nothing wrong with his comment. He was talking about Bush, not those currently serving. Just because Bushco didn't get it rather underscores the "stupid" aspect.

KayseJ November 1, 2006 - 6:24pm

They got it and they are not stupid

Stupid is the one who doesn't respect the enemy. (Applies to Iraq War too.)

Bushco chose to play the stupid to create something to spin. By the way, try to play the stupid sometimes. Be amazed. 95% of the people buy it.

-- 101 ways to avoid the subjunctive mood

Gandalf November 2, 2006 - 10:07am

Cheney weighs in

I find it absolutely incredible that Cheney has the balls to say Kerry should apologize. Especially after Cheney shot a man in the face and never publicly apologized and that's after Whittington publicly apologized to Cheney for being shot in the face!!!! Read Cheney's interview after the incident (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11373634/). Nowhere in there does he say "I'm sorry" or "I apologize". So far the only apology I've been able to find from Bush is for visiting Bob Jones University in Jan. 2001. I believe he has had a few things to apologize for since then. And if Tony Snow can believe Dick Cheney doesn't mean waterboarding when he talks about "a dunk in the water" for terrorist suspects, I think he deserves to give Kerry the benefit of the doubt. Unbe-freakin-lievable!

jumpinin November 1, 2006 - 9:34pm

Distraction

This "apology" tactics is to bury the dangerous aspects what Kerry said and the weak points of Republican spin. Everybody knows that the soldiers are from the lower class and Bush just claimed opposite.

Hinting that republicans actually don't have any respect towards the soldiers except cheap talk and are abusing the poor should work as usually. Emphatic attitude from Kerry would be poison to Republicans now.

-- 101 ways to avoid the subjunctive mood

Gandalf November 2, 2006 - 10:18am

I thought what Kerry said

I thought what Kerry said made perfect sense. With the current recruiting crisis, people with fewer options in life are a disproportionate intake of the military, which isn't an indictment of the military itself but rather of the terrible economy that Bush has been running that makes it harder to succeed (if you don't already have a lot).
If there were no truth in it at all, it wouldn't sting so much.

bystander November 2, 2006 - 1:28am

"Army abuses the poor"

That's the core truth and somebody has now the perfect time to rephrase it in Politicsh to shoot back at Bush-I-respect-the-soldiers-bullshit.

Kerry sounded very Republican and the Republicans are playing very dangerous spinning game. If Democrats can't hardball that back and take advantage on the Republicans' mistake, they are braindead.

-- 101 ways to avoid the subjunctive mood

Gandalf November 2, 2006 - 10:02am

Yo, Kerry: Tell the truth about the lies

All John Kerry needs to do is go before the cameras and tell the truth about the lies and distortions of the Bush administration.

Like this:

"My fellow Americans, this administration seems incapable of giving you the real truth about anything. They lied and distorted the truth about how we got into this disastrous war in Iraq, and now they are lying and distorting my criticisms about them. The real question is, how much more of their lies and distortions should the American people have to put up with?

"Keep that in mind when you go to cast your votes on November 7th. If you want the lies and distortions to end, take the first step by giving America a Democratic House and Senate. Let us start hearings into the lies and distortions of this administration, so that our country can start to heal the wounds inflicted by six years of Republican mis-leadership."

Something like that would do nicely. What do you think?

"Death before being dishonored any more." - Col. Ted Westhusing

Jimbo92107 November 2, 2006 - 3:12am

foundational problem

The concept of a teammate presupposes the concept of a team.

Shaula Evans November 2, 2006 - 1:39pm

LOL. And I thought I was

LOL. And I thought I was cynical.

Ian Welsh November 2, 2006 - 5:52pm

Hillary bitching

Hillary bitched Kerry. So, she is now in the presidential candidate game.

-- 101 ways to avoid the subjunctive mood

Gandalf November 3, 2006 - 2:06pm

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When Your Teammate Fumbles the Ball You Pick It Up

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