Sen. Kerry apologizes to troops

Sen. Kerry apologizes to troops
'Poorly stated joke' never intended to refer to soldiers

WASHINGTON — Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, under intense fire from both parties for remarks made Monday in which the Democrat suggested U.S. troops are "stuck in Iraq" because of their education, issued an apology Wednesday afternoon for what he called "my poorly stated joke."

"As a combat veteran, I want to make it clear to anyone in uniform and to their loved ones: my poorly stated joke at a rally was not about, and never intended to refer to any troop," Kerry said in a statement published on his Web site.

Kerry said he regrets that his words "were misinterpreted to wrongly imply anything negative about those in uniform, and I personally apologize to any service member, family member, or American who was offended."

The White House reacted quickly to Kerry's apology, issuing the following statement:

"Senator Kerry's apology to the troops for his insulting comment came late but was the right thing to do. Our military is the best and the brightest — the most courageous and professional of any military in the world. President Bush is honored to be their commander-in-chief."

Kerry's Web site apology included another salvo aimed at the GOP, which Kerry claims used the "stuck in Iraq" remark to divert the midterm election debate away from the Bush administration's Iraq policy.

"It is clear the Republican Party would rather talk about anything but their failed security policy. I don't want my verbal slip to be a diversion from the real issues. I will continue to fight for a change of course to provide real security for our country, and a winning strategy for our troops," he said.

Kerry touched off a political firestorm on Monday at a campaign appearance in California in which he told students at Pasadena City College that if they make the most of their educations, "you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well.

"And if you don't, you get stuck in Iraq," he said.

After refusing to apologize on Tuesday, Kerry felt increasing pressure from members of his own party, who encouraged him to "go to ground."

Kerry canceled several appearances with Democratic candidates in tight races in Minnesota and Pennsylvania. In Iowa, a spokesman for Democratic congressional candidate Bruce Braley said Braley had decided independently to cancel an event with Kerry scheduled for Thursday.

But Kerry, who returned to his Washington, D.C., home Wednesday afternoon, did not go to radio silence. In fact, Wednesday morning he spoke to Kerry supporter and syndicated radio talk show host Don Imus, who told him: "Stop talking. Go home, get on the bike, go windsurfing, anything. Stop it. You're going to ruin this."

Asked whether he would apologize for any misunderstanding about what he might have said, Kerry acknowledged that he flubbed his script, saying, "Of course, I'm sorry about a botched joke. You think I love botched jokes? I mean, it's pretty stupid."

Despite agreement from many Democrats about Kerry's position on the war in Iraq — earlier this year, he sponsored a resolution with Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., for troops to withdraw by year's end — a chorus of Democrats criticized the senator for the apparent insult to the troops.

Among them was potential 2008 presidential rival Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., who stopped short of demanding an apology, instead calling Kerry's comments "inappropriate."

"I think elections are about the future, and I think that no one wants to see the 2004 election replayed. That's about the past," Clinton said. "What Sen. Kerry said was inappropriate, and I believe we can't let it divert us from looking at the issues that are at stake in our country."

Other Democrats, meanwhile, joined the call for a Kerry apology, with one — Senate hopeful Jon Tester of Montana — not pulling his punches.

"Senator Kerry's remarks were poorly worded and just plain stupid," said Tester, the Montana Senate president trying to unseat GOP Sen. Conrad Burns. "He owes our troops and their families an apology."

"Sen. Kerry's comment was careless, callous and hurtful to our men and women in uniform," said Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La.

"If that was John Kerry's attempt at a joke, he needs to work on his punch line," added Virginia Democratic Senate candidate Jim Webb, former Navy secretary to President Reagan.

But Democrats still stood by Kerry on one issue: President Bush. While counting on his apology to tamp down the tempest, the senator said he has no plans to slow up his assaults on the Bush administration, who he blames for the chaos in Iraq.

"Now, I'm coming back to Washington today so that I'm not a distraction, because I don't want to be a distraction to these campaigns," Kerry told Imus. "And the point is simply: They owe America an apology for this disaster in Iraq. And I hope they're going to provide it."

Republicans are hoping Kerry will stir the conservative base to go to the polls. The National Republican Senatorial Committee called on Democrats in tight races defend or denounce the remarks and demanded that any Democrat who denounces Kerry return funds Kerry donated to their campaigns.

President Bush, speaking to The Associated Press and other news wires before the apology, said Kerry's comment "didn't sound like a joke, and I don't think it sounded like a joke to a lot of people who wear the uniform either."

In excerpts for Vice President Dick Cheney, written before the apology, Cheney, who was addressing voters in Montana Wednesday night, said of Kerry: "He was for the joke before he was against it."

The comment is a take-off of a blunder Kerry made in the presidential election, when he was mocked for articulating his votes on Iraq war funding by saying, "I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it."

Even after the apology, some Republicans were not in the mood for forgiveness. Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney called Kerry's mea culpa "an attack apology."

"What he said was as plain as plain could be, and he really should issue an apology that is as plain as plain could be," Romney told FOX News.

Others changed tack, and suggested they are not going to take Democratic attacks on Bush lying down.

"Frankly we're perfectly happy to talk security policy with Democrats," said White House spokesman Tony Snow, who a day earlier an angry Kerry called a "stuff suit." He added that Democrats have not given a credible plan for victory in Iraq or the War on Terror.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert called Kerry and the Kennedys elitist.

"They're people who have a lot of money, always had a lot of money, never had to work for their living, are elitist in their ideas and really don't represent what the American people think. And I think that's becoming more and more of what the Democratic Party is," Hastert said in a Sirius Satellite radio interview with Andrew Wilkow.

GOP operatives say the latest event don't guarantee victory on Election Day. They know the odds are still against holding the House and only slightly favor them holding the Senate. What they do know is that the Kerry flap has knocked Democrats off message for at least two days and that's given them hope of clawing their way to victory in some tight races and possibly padding leads in close races where Republicans held a slight edge.

But Republicans running non-traditional races aren't touching the debate. In Maryland, Lt. Gov. Michael Steele is ignoring it, sticking with his game plan of running on local issues and courting the black vote. Mike Bouchard in Michigan is also trying to run as an outsider and with his own themes and tactics, and so is conspicuously ignoring the party playbook on Kerry in hopes that it reinforces their authenticity and independence from cookie-cutter GOP tactics.