# Kerry's Botched Joke **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 31, 2006, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerrys-botched-joke/378631 "2006-10-31T19:47:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerrys-botched-joke/378631/42 "2006-10-31T21:17:24Z")
[QUOTE=spoke-] I believe Kerry is capable of astounding feats of political idiocy. Which explains why he couldn’t beat a weakened Bush in '04. [/QUOTE] I fully believe that he’s capable of such feats, and in fact, I think he shows it in a later portion of his explanation of the botched joke, but I still don’t see any reason not to believe his joke was directed at the President, and not at the troops. [QUOTE=John Kerry] My statement yesterday, and the White House knows this full well, was a botched joke about the President and the President’s people not about the troops [/QUOTE] Seems pretty clear to me, unless someone has some reason to doubt him. [QUOTE=John Kerry] The White Houses attempt to distort my true statement is a remarkable testament to their abject failure making America safe. [/QUOTE] This on the other hand, seems quite stupid to me. While I agree that they were trying to distort his statement, and I even agree that they have been abject failures in their attempts to make America safe, I don’t see the correlation between the two that he seems to find. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerrys-botched-joke/378631/43 "2006-10-31T21:17:49Z")
[QUOTE=brickbacon] Kerry may not be a genius, but he is not retarded. [/QUOTE] Even though he looks that way in that picture linked in the OP. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerrys-botched-joke/378631/44 "2006-10-31T21:18:21Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] I don’t know-- this is a tough one. It really doesn’t make much sense either way. Here’s how I would decide-- did he and/or the audience laugh when it was said? If yes, then I think he was talking about the president. If not, I think he might very well have been talking, not about the troops per se, but about someone who might have to end up in the military, and thus in Iraq. Is there a video link? [/QUOTE] Here’s a [link](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLuMWiQ6r2o) but it stops before you get to hear the audience reaction. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerrys-botched-joke/378631/45 "2006-10-31T21:19:14Z")
[QUOTE=spoke-] Oh bullshit. That’s just Kerry trying to cover his tracks. [/QUOTE] Oh bullshit yourself. Only a terrified partisan could convince themselves Kerry would insult the troops. It makes you feel better about the impending wupping, but it has nothing to do with what Kerry said. I’ve heard the comment in context, and it came right in the middle of a bunch of disparaging remarks about the President. The troops were never even mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerrys-botched-joke/378631/46 "2006-10-31T21:21:00Z")
[QUOTE=What the … !!!] Here’s a [link](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLuMWiQ6r2o) but it stops before you get to hear the audience reaction. [/QUOTE] Yeah, it cuts off too soon to tell. It kinda looks like he was making a joke, but I can’t be sure. I’ll bet there are better ones out there. This will be all over the news shows today, so I’m sure they’ll have a better clip. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerrys-botched-joke/378631/47 "2006-10-31T21:22:04Z")
[QUOTE=DMC] I still don’t see any reason not to believe his joke was directed at the President, and not at the troops. [/QUOTE] I do. Kerry was no better than Bush as a student. So it wouldn’t make any sense for him to make a crack about Bush’s academic record. Not to mention the fact that politicians of Presidential caliber just do not launch such personal attacks. He was talking about the troops. Let’s face it. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerrys-botched-joke/378631/48 "2006-10-31T21:22:05Z")
[QUOTE=spoke-] Oh bullshit. That’s just Kerry trying to cover his tracks. [/QUOTE] Two votes for bullshit … make mine with a capital B. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerrys-botched-joke/378631/49 "2006-10-31T21:23:48Z")
[QUOTE=Fear Itself] Only a terrified partisan could convince themselves Kerry would insult the troops. It makes you feel better about the impending wupping, but it has nothing to do with what Kerry said. [/QUOTE] I’m a Democrat, genius. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerrys-botched-joke/378631/50 "2006-10-31T21:27:55Z")
[QUOTE=spoke-] I do. Kerry was no better than Bush as a student. So it wouldn’t make any sense for him to make a crack about Bush’s academic record. [/QUOTE] Kerry was also a solder, so it wouldn’t make sense for him to call soldiers stupid (aside from being politically suicidal, which I find hard to believe). ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerrys-botched-joke/378631/51 "2006-10-31T21:27:59Z")
[QUOTE=spoke-] I’m a Democrat, genius. [/QUOTE] Bullshit. That’s just a partisan covering his tracks. You haven’t heard the rest of Kerry’s comments, only that one line snipped out of all the other insults directed towrd bush. There was never any mention of any troops. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerrys-botched-joke/378631/52 "2006-10-31T21:29:18Z")
[QUOTE=spoke-] I’m a Democrat, genius. [/QUOTE] Not saying that you’re a partisan, as I have no idea, but Weirddave is also a Democrat. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerrys-botched-joke/378631/53 "2006-10-31T21:30:11Z")
**Fear Itself** , please accept my apology for the insulting tone of my last post. My anger at Kerry for shooting the party in the foot got misdirected toward you. Please forgive me. ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerrys-botched-joke/378631/54 "2006-10-31T21:31:55Z")
[QUOTE=mlees] True, but the TV news media give a higher amount of airtime to the “nutjobs”. They mostly appear to be young, and a lot of them are shown in stories involving anti-war demonstrations arranged on campuses (campii?), or by students… (I don’t claim bias here. These news stories are more dramatic than the “adopt-a-kitten” segment, so they get more air time.) [/quote] Being given airtime is very different if it’s a wide shot of a protest and a one-on-one interview. I don’t think you could honestly say that the majority of people actually interviewed on the TV news media say “the troops currently in Iraq should quit rather than take part in this war”. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerrys-botched-joke/378631/55 "2006-10-31T21:34:43Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] Yeah, well Black people call each other “nigger” all the time. Does that mean they like when White folks call them that? If you include yourself in the joke, it’s a different ballgame. We’re a bunch of idiots ≠ You’re a bunch of idiots. For someone who self-describes as “intelligent”, how could you not know that? [/QUOTE] I think you’re forgetting that Kerry himself would be "black’ in your analogy. So would I, for that matter. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerrys-botched-joke/378631/56 "2006-10-31T21:37:37Z")
[QUOTE=spoke-] **Fear Itself** , please accept my apology for the insulting tone of my last post. My anger at Kerry for shooting the party in the foot got misdirected toward you. Please forgive me. [/QUOTE] No problem. But you are being manipulated by the Republican spin machine if you think Kerry’s comment was about the troops. Yes, it can be edited to look damning. \*\*But that is what they do. \*\* The unedited version will be on YouTube shortly, and you can see that in context, it was about Bush, not about the troops. Much ado about nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerrys-botched-joke/378631/57 "2006-10-31T21:39:24Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] I think you’re forgetting that Kerry himself would be "black’ in your analogy. So would I, for that matter. [/QUOTE] Er, I think that was **John’s** point. Black people can call each other nigger while a white guy would probably get called on it. And soldiers (like you) can call other soldiers stupid without being called on it. For another example, if I were to say British people are all thick, it could easily be taken as a joke. But if I were to say all _American_ people were thick, it would be a lot easier for someone to call me a bigot. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerrys-botched-joke/378631/58 "2006-10-31T21:39:26Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] I think you’re forgetting that Kerry himself would be "black’ in your analogy. So would I, for that matter. [/QUOTE] No, not anymore. It’s been a very long time since either of you was in the military, and besides, **Kerry was an officer** , not an enlisted guy. BTW, lest the intent of that last post is unclear, I do think you’re very intelligent. I just don’t believe you can’t see the insult. Anyway, I think it more likely that he was aiming it at the president, and not at the troops. Once I get to see a video clip, in context, I think I’ll be able to say for sure which I think it was. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerrys-botched-joke/378631/59 "2006-10-31T21:39:36Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] Are you sure it isn’t Herman Munster (without the make-up, though)? [/QUOTE] Actually, the Kerry college photo makes him look like he was separated from the James Bond [“Jaws”](http://www.junior.te.pt/Final/Bairro/ImgA/sabiasque/james_bond/james_bond_jaws.jpg) character at birth. ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerrys-botched-joke/378631/60 "2006-10-31T21:39:41Z")
It doesn’t matter what he meant. This is a wet dream for the Republicans, and for good reason. They couldn’t have written this script better themselves. Fucking Kerry. ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerrys-botched-joke/378631/61 "2006-10-31T21:40:34Z")
Maybe not, then. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerrys-botched-joke/378631.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerrys-botched-joke/378631.md?page=4)