Fox News reports (via Hugh Hewitt via F/R via Allah) that Kerry has cancelled his campaign appearances tomorrow.
Bruce Braley, an Iowa Democratic congressional candidate, disinivites Kerry:
A Democratic Congressional candidate from Iowa is canceling a campaign event later this week with Senator John Kerry. Bruce 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.
John Kerry's fright night
Bush rises to the occasion
Kerry video: "I apologize to no one"The Associated (w/t) Press to Kerry's rescue!
The MSM is AWOL
John Kerry said what?!
DNC supports vets...but from which country?
John Kerry's fright night
By Michelle Malkin · October 31, 2006 08:47 PM
Here's your Halloween grab bag for the night (scroll for updates):
Reader Daniel K. digs up and sends along his 2004 Halloween Kerry Pshop--still handy two years later:
The left side of the blogosphere is not happy with Lurch, reports Dean Barnett.
The Associated (w/t) Press continues to carry the Democrats' water tonight:
Democrats Increase Hope of Winning House
After a decade in the political wilderness, Democrats are beginning to predict confidently if quietly that they will win control of the House in next week's elections, and possibly emerge with a relatively robust majority.
The optimism coincides with a Republican retreat Tuesday in three costly, highly competitive races in Pennsylvania, Colorado and Ohio, as well as polls showing continued public dissatisfaction with President Bush and the war in Iraq...
Greyhawk at Mudville Gazette brings out a Gomer Kerry pshop and a reminder to donate to Project Valour-IT. Go Team Air Force!
***
Scrappleface presents: "Kerry Smart."
John McCain is on the cable TV circuit ripping into Kerry.
The Adventures of Chester spotlights the family members of a fallen soldier who had received a condolence call from Kerry--and who are appalled at his insult today.
LGF has the pumpkin carving of the day.
McCain on Hannity and Colmes.
Bush rises to the occasion
By Michelle Malkin · October 31, 2006 06:22 PM
Video: Aren't you glad he is our president?
Now, I'm taking the kids trick or treating.
Democrat Halloween Horrorfest
By Michelle Malkin · October 31, 2006 03:58 PM
Take a tour with me. My costume this year: Elvira, Mistress of the Dark.
Kerry video: "I apologize to no one"
By Michelle Malkin · October 31, 2006 03:29 PM
He never, ever does. It's a life-long congenital condition.
The Associated(w/t)Press to Kerry's rescue!
By Michelle Malkin · October 31, 2006 01:12 PM
***update: Kerry to speak at 2pm press conference...I expect nothing less than full-throated indignance, condescension, and blame avoidance...great news for the GOP...see, what did I tell ya: Kerry: "I apologize to no one for my criticisms of President Bush..."
***update: American Legion asks for apology:
The National Commander of The American Legion called on Sen. John Kerry to apologize for suggesting that American troops in Iraq are uneducated.
"As a constituent of Senator Kerry's I am disappointed. As leader of The American Legion, I am outraged," said National Commander Paul A. Morin. "A generation ago, Sen. Kerry slandered his comrades in Vietnam by saying that they were rapists and murderers. It wasn't true then and his warped view of today's heroes isn't true now."
While addressing a group of college students at a campaign rally in Pasadena, CA., Monday, Kerry suggested that they receive an education or "if you don't, you'll get stuck in Iraq."
"While The American Legion shares the senator's appreciation for education, the troops in Iraq represent the most sophisticated, technologically superior military that the world has ever seen," Morin said. "I think there is a thing or two that they could teach most college professors and campus elitists about the way the world works.
"And while we are on the topic of education, why doesn't the senator and his comrades in Congress improve the GI Bill so all of today's military members - reserves and guard included - can achieve the educational aspirations that the senator so highly values?" Morin said. "The senator's false and outrageous attack was over-the-top and he should apologize now."
***
The A(w/t)P's Jennifer Loven (of course) spins the story.
Is the headline, "Kerry warns students, insults troops: Don't 'get stuck in Iraq?'"
Of course not.
It's "White House Spokesman Slams Kerry Remark:"
The White House accused Sen. John Kerry on Tuesday of troop-bashing, seizing on a comment the Democrat made to California students that those unable to navigate the country's education system "get stuck in Iraq."
"Senator Kerry not only owes an apology to those who are serving, but also to the families of those who've given their lives in this," White House press secretary Tony Snow said. "This is an absolute insult."
Kerry, a decorated Vietnam veteran and Bush's rival in 2004, fired back, saying the president and his administration are the ones who owe U.S. troops an apology because they "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."
"This is the classic GOP playbook," Kerry said in a harshly worded statement. "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."
Snow was asked about the comment which Kerry made during a campaign rally Monday for California Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides. The White House spokesman was clearly ready, consulting his notes to read a fuller account of Kerry's statement and unleashing a sharp attack.
The Massachusetts senator, who is considering another presidential run in 2008, had opened his speech at Pasadena City College with several one-liners, joking at one point that Bush had lived in Texas but now "lives in a state of denial."
Then he said: "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."
It seems clear that Loven took the speech quotes from the Pasadena Star News and not from first-hand notes. Her "reporting" misleadingly implies that Kerry's Bush reference immediately preceded the troop smear.
But remember, and I know you do, that Loven has a history of having to retract false stories about campaign events and shilling for Kerry.
Look for the rest of the MSM to take the Loven/Kerry line.
***
Allah's tracking vid responses.
The MSM is AWOL
By Michelle Malkin · October 31, 2006 11:43 AM
***12:30pm update.***Kerry adviser admits to National Journal's Hotline that Kerry's smear came out "mangled." McCain to repeat demand for apology on camera at 1pm.
Here's Kerry's non-apology: Digging in, blaming conservatives, condescending as ever.
11:57am update. Drudge: McCain calls on Kerry to apologize. Well now that their favorite maaaverick has spoken, I guess the MSM will cover it now...12:09pm Rush Limbaugh playing the Kerry clip top of his show..."It tells us what John Kerry and the Democrat Party think about the troops and our US military"...The military press is covering the story: NavyTimes, Army Times...Boehner calls for apology (quoting from e-mail just received):
"Senator Kerry’s comments were disrespectful and insulting to the men and women serving in our military. These Americans who are risking their lives in the fight against terrorism in Iraq deserve better than to have their service demeaned by a United States Senator. Our soldiers need John Kerry’s support, yet John Kerry offers nothing more than disparaging commentary. “John Kerry should apologize, and Democrat candidates across the country should publicly denounce them and demand that Senator Kerry apologize to the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces serving in Iraq."***
***
There's a five-alarm firestorm spreading over the radio airwaves and Internet in response to John Kerry's troop smear while campaigning for anti-war Democrat gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides yesterday in California.
So, where's the MSM coverage? Reader William B. went searching:
The LA Times? Nope. Not one word. As if the rally never existed even though there were television cameras there and the Times has daily coverage of the Angelides campaign. The San Francisco Chronicle covered the rally. Here is their story.
See the Kerry comment in there? Neither did I.
But wait! Here is the San Francisco Chronicle's story about the Virginia Senate race. I wonder if the word "Macaca" shows up...As some rap star once said, "Whomp! There it is!" (OK to be fair, it was an AP story that the Chronicle picked up. So that means that this story only reached another 200 newspapers or so.)
Let's check the NY Times on Kerry's comment.
Cue sound of crickets.
Stephanie Smith e-mails:
You can add the AJC (Atlanta Journal-Constitution - known in my circles as the Al-Jazeera Constitution) to the list of completely silent newspapers on the topic of Kerry basically calling our soldiers idiots. I’m as unsurprised as I am disgusted by his comments...We will not submit!
By the way, here's a reminder of the last time Kerry put his foot in his mouth and broadly tarred American troops in Iraq as terrorizers in December 2005. Well, at least he didn't call them "uneducated:"
***
More letters. The ladies are fired up:
Michelle,
I joined the Marine Corps in 1983, right out of high school, not because I couldn't make it in college but because I wanted something more out of life than the small town I was in. When I retired, 21 years later, I had a BS in Finance and a Master's degree in Computer Science. My husband, currently serving in Fallujah, Iraq, joined the Marine Corps after getting a BS in History and afterwards acheived his Master's in Education Leadership. My oldest son, slated to go to Iraq in March 2007, joined the Marine Corps after 2 years of college. He just couldn't let others fight a war for something he truly believed in so he joined the Marine Corps last December.
I guess we are a family of underachievers. AND PROUD OF IT!!!!!
Kim Whitehouse
USMC Retired
***
I am sure comments are pouring in from the spouses and parents of our soldiers but I must weigh in as well---my son just deployed to Iraq with the 1st Cav---he is an Arabic linguist---smart and dedicated (a National Merit Scholar in high school)---and to hear Senator Kerry's offhand deprecation of his life, his intellect and his commitment to this nation is galling.
A few weeks ago, we were in DC as a family---as we toured the various spots including the White House and the Capitol, I turned to my son and said, "See, this is what you are defending." He said, "No, mom, I am defending this" and pointed out to everything else---including a batch of protestors gathered across the street. He added, "We are not a monarchy or totalitarian government where we defend those who govern, we defend the Constitution---the "We, the people"---we defend the people!"
It would be good if Senator Kerry was as clear as to whom he serves.
Kathryn Martin
Pam M. e-mails:
Back in high school, a good friend of mine entered the Air Force upon graduating. He was part of a secret program that meant he had to become fluent in Russian as well as clear a background check; I was among those who were questioned when he applied for the program. After his discharge he earned his bachelor's and master's degrees...and I believe he may be working on his PhD.
A friend of my husband (who has seen action in Iraq) holds a PhD in history and is a university professor.
My own father served in the Army (in between Korea and Vietnam), went on to get both his bachelor's and master's degrees, and taught the fifth and sixth grades for nearly 30 years. He is one of the most educated and well-informed people I know.
For Kerry to imply that only dummies voluntarily enter the military is not just insulting, it's wrong. Unfortunately, he is only saying out loud what most Democrats believe. A lib friend of mine recently lamented the decision of a mutual acquaintance to leave college in order to join the Army. He said he needed to "find himself." Instead of respecting his choice, she wondered why he would joing the f***ing Army.
And these people wonder why we not only question their values, but their patriotism.
***
Jason Smith notes a Heritage Foundation study debunking the myth of the poor, uneducated soldier:
"According to a comprehensive study of all enlistees for the years 1998-99 and 2003 that The Heritage Foundation just released, the typical recruit in the all-volunteer force is wealthier, more educated and more rural than the average 18- to 24-year-old citizen is. Indeed, for every two recruits coming from the poorest neighborhoods, there are three recruits coming from the richest neighborhoods.
If, for example, we consider the education of every recruit, 98% joined with high-school diplomas or better. By comparison, 75% of the general population meets that standard. Among all three-digit ZIP code areas in the USA in 2003 (one can study larger areas by isolating just the first three digits of ZIP codes), not one had a higher graduation rate among civilians than among its recruits."
By Michelle Malkin · October 31, 2006 09:54 AM
Feedback continues to pour in this morning:
Michelle,
I'm a reserve Army officer, currently employed as a professor overseas.
The DoD contracts with several universities to offer undergraduate and
graduate degrees to servicemembers, either online or face-to-face, in
darn near every corner of the planet. Many enlisted soldiers have
graduate degrees; many more have bachelor's degrees, and the rest are
working on them.
Teaching soldiers is immensely rewarding, because they work their butts
off. They have full-time duties, and usually families and children too;
some even attend classes while deployed. To survive my chemistry
courses, students spend three hours in lecture, two nights a week, and
their Friday nights or Saturdays in the lab, week after week. Getting a
bachelor's or master's degree this way is not easy, but they do it
anyway. To better themselves, to get promoted, to prepare for civilian
careers -- to, y'know, "be smart."
The fact of the matter is, the US military is the most educated in the
history of mankind. Once again, Kerry's remarks display his revolting
elitism, and shocking ignorance. Military students are /educated/, not
indoctrinated, and do not have daddy footing the bill -- and this is
precisely what makes their degrees worth more than Kerry's.
Sara Townsley
Assistant Professor
UMUC-Europe
***
Michelle,
I can't tell you how much this kind of thing ticks me off. So I just relate my daughter's story, because I know she wouldn't.
My daughter was in college a couple years ago. She was on the dean's list and doing very well when the call came for duty in Iraq. She went and did her year as any good soldier would. She returned to school where she is majoring in work with autism. And that's not just a goal, she already works in homes with the kids and families who suffer from this disease. She could be anything she wants to be, but chooses to be a soldier as well. And as soon as she was able, she also reinlisted for another six years. She's not in the Army because she can't do anything else, she's in the Army to defend the great freedoms we enjoy. She is the cream of this generation, as I believe all our military members are! To the Kerrys and others losers of this world, start giving credit where it's due.
Rich Dahlen
Proud Vietnam Vet
New Era, MI
***
Dear Michelle, I am a longtime reader, and I have to admit that the Kerry "education speech" is the first story that bothered me enough to write in. I am a 24 year old mechanical engineering student at the University of Central Florida. I have a number of friends who are either currently in the armed forces or who used the GI bill to pay their way through school. I find Kerry's comments very troubling, because I have seen first hand that the GI Bill is one of if not the best way for any american to finance college. I have two friends in particular who graduated as aerospace engineers (earth to kerry, ROCKET SCIENTISTS) in large part to the aid earned by serving their country. They hung their Diplomas up over the summer, without a drop of debt, and both work on the space coast (one is currently getting security clearence to start as a life-support engineer for the space shuttle). It's not just the GI bill that has helped my friends though. The military experience certainly pays dividends durring a job hunt, and the specialty training offered has helped a longtime friend become a computer programmer for the air force, another a master electrician and thanks to the ROTC program I have a friend who has started his career as a fire control officer for advanced GPS guided rockets in Afghanistan. I am proud of my friends, their service and the voluntary army that serves this country. I think that the army is an incredible opportunity; offering a fast track to paying for college, gaining citizenship and training that applies to more than just active duty. Kerry should be ashamed. -Matthew Teague
***
"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 may get lost in Vietnam and think you're in Cambodia during Christmas on a super-secret CIA-evil-Republician mission.
This arrorgant jerk scores 100% as a liberal-leftist, commie-marxist-socialist ass clown.
D.T. Miller
***
I cannot tell you how much his (Kerry's) statement hurt this father with one son in the United States Air Force and another that just signed up for the United States Marines under their Delayed Entry Program (he will go to Basic Training when he graduates from HS this spring). I guess I am just raising dummies since I am not a blue blood like Kerry. Mark Olson
***
Contrary to Senator Kerry's foolish remark that the uneducated end up fighting in Iraq, a remark that reflects liberals ignorant prejudice about the military, military people are better educated than their civilian equivalents, not to mention better trained for their jobs. 94.4% of military members have a high school education or better, compared to 89% of their civilian equivalents (see link below with table of statistics).
dod.mil
Generally, you must have a high school diploma to join the military as an enlisted man. You must have a college degree to become an officer. There are no such requirements for the equivalent jobs in the civilian world. If you have no academic credentials, you are not going to end up in the military. If you are uneducated, you are much more likely to end up as an ignorant civilian supporting Kerry than a grunt in Iraq.
In the Air Force, I met a fair number of sergeants with bachelor's degrees, some master's degrees, and even a couple PhDs. I don't see the same in the civilian blue collar work force.
As an officer, you must earn a master's degree to win promotion to major, which comes at the 13 year point. That means all the mid-level managers in the officer corps have graduate degrees. The same is hardly true of civilian mid-level managers. In the Air Force, one out of eleven officers, have doctorates or professional degrees (JD, MD, etc).[http://www.afa.org/magazine/may2006/0506structure.pdf, p. 53, USAF Educational Levels] I do not see the same level of education in the civilian world, where only a third of the people have an undergraduate degree. [http://www.time.com/time/covers/20061030/who_we_are/]
All this academic work is aside from the system of professional military education which teaches military members to do their jobs, unlike the civilian system where workers learn their jobs largely by trial and error. The military values education and training and puts its money where its mouth is, maintaining a myriad of programs and institutions to improve yourself. By contrast, the civilian world would rather somebody else paid for training its workforce.
I suppose now that Kerry will tell us that he was for the military before he was against it.
- Steve G.
***
The Influence Peddler writes: "It's a shame that John Kerry doesn't have the good sense to just shut up."
Actually, if he keeps his mouth wide open the next seven days, Nov. 8 will be sweet revenge.
Here's his campaign schedule. Readers, if you can make it to any of these, bring a camera or tape recorder and let us know how he explains himself to the troops:
***
Ed Morrissey:
Wow. Just wow. It's worth recalling that Kerry at one time aspired to command these same men and women from the White House, and claims to still want to lead them. How would these people react to taking orders from a Commander-in-Chief who believes them to be uneducated, lazy losers?
We'll see if Kerry's peers in the Democratic Party support Kerry's description of our fighting men and women. If Democrats that have had John Kerry campaign on their behalf refuse to address Kerry's remarks or openly supports their characterization, it will expose the hypocrisy and the contempt that the Left has for the military. All of the talk of "supporting the troops" will be revealed as lip service.
Will Ned Lamont repudiate Kerry's words? Will Bob Casey, Jr dispute his mentor's characterization of our military as a junkyard for goldbricking idiots? Will Benjamin Cardin affirm that soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines don't have what it takes to succeed in life? Here in Minnesota, does Amy Klobuchar agree with Kerry's analysis?
***
10:58 am update: A few blind Democrat apologists claim Kerry's words were taken out of context and that he was disparaging Bush, not the troops.
Watch NBC 4 TV's news report. That is NOT the context that the remarks are set in by the reporter. The event was at Pasadena City College. Kerry argued that if the Dems and Angelides are elected, more young people will go to college--thus avoiding the fate of all our lazy, uneducated troops.
Unmistakable what he meant. Don't need a PhD in linguistics to understand it clearly.
Seth Liebsohn of Bill Bennett's radio show agrees and adds: "Even Democrats think Kerry meant what we say he meant and salute this crude." He points to this liberal blogger entry:
"Talk about speaking the stark truth to students who want more out of life. The education system in California is a mess, especially in L.A. County. Each day I pick my daughter up at school I see the recruiters leaving, smiling because they have snagged another kid who’s trapped by the system and see’s no future other than enlisting. It shouldn’t be like this. A 50% drop out rate is unacceptable. What is the bottom line for these kids, a job at McDonald’s or Iraq. Kudo’s to Kerry for delivering a wake up call to the young voters at the rally."
***
Support the troops today: Hot Air and I, along with many other bloggers, have joined the Project Valour-IT campaign to raise $180,000 to buy laptops for wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines recovering from hand and arm injuries or amputations at home or in military hospitals. We're on the Air Force team led by John Noonan.
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