Did Kerry intentionally insult the troops OR did he just botch the joke he was telling?
952190
Doesnt matter, Kerry is ONE OF THE TROOPS and he could never insult us.\n\nBush on the other hand, hid from the Viet Cong in a cushy stateside champagne unit reserved for NFL players and Politicians sons.\n\nIm more OUTRAGED at that.\n\n--bryn above, theres alot of truth in what you say.
876704
I never liked Kerry to begin with.  He acted like he was above the common person.  My husband is a recent enlistee in the National Guard along with my brother.  I have three cousins and an uncle in the Armed Forces and both my grandfathers retired from the military.  Every single one of these men have a degree of some sort and my uncle is a lawyer!  Come on now!  Kerry's words may have been intended for Bush but if that's the case, he should apologize for his wording.  He owes our troops an apology for his misstatement, not his stance.    He won't apologize because he stands by his position and dislike of president Bush.  He thinks if he apologizes , he's admitting he's wrong.  He'd be admitting a misconstrued statement.
863224
Anyone who heard what Hanoi Kerry had to say , KNOWS he insulted our troops in Iraq . Kerry just can't help himself-but his pompous ego makes him think it's ok to be a traitor .
959535
Went to your first link and found the quote, the exact words. So they did report it.\n\nI've now heard three explanations of what happened. One it was a joke. Two, it was a joke and he messed up his lines, and now it was a statement about Bush.\n\nNow, I can understand how anyone can mess up a prepared speech, but to say you stand behind your statement and then say that its a botched joke about the president....and they know that’s what I was talking about.\n\nYes I know what you were talking about, our troops, you said it plain and simple.\n\nI don't understand why John Kerry just doesn't apologize for the statement, unless he meant it about our troops.
714634
Like many leftists, Kerry believes himself to be culturally elite.\n\nHis comments were a classic Freudian slip: He meant every word of what he said and it was directed towards the military.\n\nYou can't discount his previous slights against our Armed Forces and remain honest. The man has a history of slamming our service members.
752952
You really have to shake your head at the oh-so-obvious spin going on here - his first excuse was that the comment was directed at Bush, and now we're supposed to believe it was a joke. Get your story straight before firing up the damned spin!
371138
He later made a statement that it was a joke.
844266
I think he really screwed up here.  What he did is a career ender, no matter what party it came from.  Lets face it, the Republicans weren't/aren't doing much to help their standing, but thanks to Mr. Kerry (which he will remain, Mr. that is) they didn't need to.  Now they need to run with it.  \n\nAlso, this thing with Kerry refusing to appologize to the troops and the military, I guess he wants to take the express train out D.C.  I didn't vote for him to 2004, and if he thinkns that he's going to get any votes in 2008, he's nuts!!  The military is one of those things that you just don't mess with.  The American People may not stand behind the leaders of the Military, but they do stand behind the troops.  After all, the troops are our Sons and Daughters.  Some of the smartest people in the nation work in and with the military.  By insulting the people who are defending our freedom, Kerry has doomed himself to an eternity of nothing.
971018
funny but as per his usual reaction to saying something stupid he of course flip-flopped and said what he meant to say was bush was stupid and uneducated (didn't bush go to Yale and actually got better grades than Kerry !) i guess with Kerry and Edwards we have to be mind readers too and guess at what they might mean...scary thought to have to get inside those two brains.
942497
I truly pity the fools that think they have to protect Kerry.  Kerry said what he meant to say in very clear and plain English.  I've seen the transcript of the speech and nothing was taken out of context.  He said what he meant.  And what he said is important because this man is in DC and helps set American policy and laws.  \n\nHowever, most who know about Kerry's military career, know it wasn't really an insult to himself.  He nominated himself for his Purple Hearts.  One of them, was for splinters in his butt.  He did less time than anyone else in Vietnam.  He used his metals to get out of the service time most troops did in country.  Once he returned home, he joined the protesters and tossed his awards away.  Even then, he showed what the thought of his fellow troops and America.\n\nHe's a disgrace.  In fact, he was set to attend many speeches between now and the election.  Many of those candidates have canceled his appearance.  That is a FACT.  So, for those who want to defend him, perhaps you can explain why his own party is turning their backs.  Maybe they're not blind to what was really said.
857605
Kerry is pathetic.  I think he is just trying to cover his tracks.  If he was taking a jab at Bush then he should have said that.  The fact that he criticizes our brave troops and wanted to be their commander in chief makes me sick.  Thankfully, that will never happen now.
885183
He hasn't insulted the military. He said that Bush is uneducated over several sentences. If you would stop taking the one line out of context that he was talking about Bush when he said that, you would understand.\n\nIn truth you should be mad at the republicans for displaying a huge amount of idiocy if not lying on the subject.
751060
I have listened to Mr Kerry speak many times. I find him very eloquent and his vernacular is excellent. His humor so far has been top notch. But he blew this one. I'm in the military and I took offense to his statement. He has been accused of speaking out of both sides of his mouth before and I feel this is one of them. He has very rarely show support for the military, by his voting, except to glorify his own political standing. His butchered attempt at humor either aimed at the military or President lost him a lot of credibility.
800755
i heard the joke he was supposed to tell and it made sense. i dont think he would ever take a shot at military persons considering he was one. i saw a reporter read it on the news and the joke was somewhere along the lines of  get an education or you will end up in iraq like the bush administration meaning that there was no intelligence behind the decisions and invasion. he did really mess it up though. i do think he was on the right track with it as well.
809060
I think he said what he ment and ment what he said.\n\nthe man has a nack for insulting the armed forces and bringing down moral, just ask the vietnam POWs
823721
He has been saying this sort of thing since 1973, his contempt for the military is nothing new.\n\nGo to the Drudge Report, there is a great picture of the soldiers response to Kerry's comment.
900526
I'm not conservative, but kerry has been trained on what to say and how to say it.. I don't think it was a mistake, I think he's trying to throw the elections for the democrats... there must be big money in it to be a skull and bones buddy with bush.