Botching the lines
Rob Price

It says something about our modern politics that a passing remark by Sen. John Kerry and the ensuing Republican response have become the big story in the closing days of the 2006 electoral season.

Here's a recap of the recent dust-up:

 Kerry, campaigning for the California Democratic gubernatorial candidate, tells a group of college students: "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."

 The White House subsequently charges Kerry has dissed American soldiers, implying those who are serving in Iraq are doing so because of their academic deficiencies. President Bush in particular calls Kerry's remarks "insulting and shameful."

 Kerry claims he wasn't insulting American soldiers; he merely had "botched" a joke. He says he was actually referring to Bush himself, suggesting that had the president spent more time cracking the books in college, he wouldn't have gotten "stuck in Iraq."

 Attacks on Kerry bifurcate. One line ignores his (admittedly) feeble defense and continues hammering on the alleged insult to American soldiers. The other line hammers his failure to apologize for telling a joke that may have offended, oh, maybe 100 million voters.

The final acts of this farce have yet to play out. In the meantime, let's speculate on a few things, beginning with what in the world Kerry may have been thinking when he first opened his mouth.

To begin with, it is unlikely Kerry really meant academic losers end up driving Humvees in Baghdad. The draft ended a long time ago; American soldiers on duty in Iraq are quite academically sound, thank you.

More importantly, context is critical. Most news accounts have isolated Kerry's "stuck in Iraq" crack from the rest of his speech. His preceding words, however, were focused emphatically on Bush, whom Kerry "joked" once lived in Texas but now lived " in a state of denial."

Thus, Kerry's claim his subsequent "joke" also referenced Bush is at least plausible. The senator's office also has supported that scenario, announcing he actually had misread his prepared remarks, which allegedly said: "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." (Note to national reporters: Follow up; demand supporting documents, dates, times, etc.)

And what of Kerry's critics? From the White House's perspective, Kerry's gaffe allowed Bush and company to shift attention from the Iraq war itself to Kerry's alleged insulting of American soldiers. If you can't win the argument, change the subject. When are the Democrats' big guns going to learn how to play this game?

And then there are a few sensible individuals who acknowledge Kerry may have screwed up his prepared lines while unintentionally insulting American soldiers. "I've found," said Sen. John McCain, "that if it is just a botched joke, then apologize and move on."

Kerry followed McCain's advice in the middle of the week, issuing a pr epared apology that should put the issue behind him. At the same time, he returned the White House fire with a vigorous counterattack: "I'm sick and tired of a whole bunch of Republican attacks, the most of which come from people who never wore the uniform and never had the courage to stand up and go to war themselves."

Feisty stuff. It also sounds like the sort of rhetoric Kerry should have employed in 2004 immediately after the Swift Boat vets attacked his Vietnam War record. Instead, he ignored the Swift Board attacks until they had caused irreparable damage to his campaign. Now, it seems possible, Kerry is signaling his fellow Democrats he won't make that mistake again - should they consider renominating him in 2008.

And on it goes. The important issues themselves recede into the background as each side struggles for the rhetorical edge - and the electoral results that will improve the quality of their daily lives inside the Washington Beltway.

How much do our politicians really care about the American soldier ducking bombs in Baghdad? Don't look for an answer in what they were saying last week.