Reply #270: Sorry, but Kerry's remark was NOT clear ...

[Martin Eden]

... if all you hear is the following:

"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."

I've seen that clip a handful of times on TV today, and the only commentator I saw who put it into the context that both you and I understand was Keith Olberman. The plain fact of the matter is that most people will take that remark at its apparent face value, and many will also hear demands from rethugs calling for Kerry to apologize. The phrase I emphasized in bold will not sit well with the voters who will swing a few key elections.

In terms of electoral politics it does not matter that Kerry was referring to Bush, not our troops. In politics, perception is reality. To the extent this incident affects the midterm elections, it will have a negative effect for us.