Between adjustments to the fog machine in the fake cemetery and last minute runs for more candy, Polimom could only watch yesterday’s John Kerry explosion in awe… but I kid you not, my jaw hit the floor (from WaPo).
The controversy erupted after Kerry told a California audience on Monday: “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. And if you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.”
That was an absolutely stupid thing to say… so stupid, in fact, that I have to believe his assertion that it was a botched line targeting Bush.
But a week before this crazy election, it doesn’t actually matter whether he meant to insult the troops, or how die-hard Kerry supporters spin it — because there’s no unsaying it. The actual words (and video) are out there, and the GOP and the right-wing blogosphere are going to keep this right in front of as many faces as possible until the polls close Tuesday night.
Kerry probably could have defused this with an apology and admission that he misspoke, but he didn’t. Instead, by turning the predictable reactions into an all-out election-eve war, he handed a weapon to the GOP… and he loaded it himself (from Time):
His initial impulse, predictably enough, was to fight back against the criticism. He didn’t want to fall again into what turned out to be the biggest trap of 2004, when he failed to understand that a relatively small ad buy from a group that no one had ever heard of could be more damaging than he imagined. He was determined not to be “swift-boated” again. So he declared: “If anyone owes our troops in the fields an apology, it is the President and his failed team and a Republican majority in the Congress that has been willing to stamp — rubber-stamp policies that have done injury to our troops and to their families.” But even Rand Beers, his national security adviser in the 2004 campaign, said: “It’s unfortunate that Senator Kerry misspoke. No one who has ever been in combat would intentionally impugn our brave troops.”
In other words, Kerry has managed on the eve of what could be a watershed election to remind pretty much everyone what it was they didn’t like about the Democrats, and especially what they didn’t like about him. It might have made more sense just to say he was sorry — for once to get ahead of a mistake, instead of trying to compensate for it the next time.
Given yesterday’s meltdown, Polimom’s not surprised that there’s morning-after pain, and CNN reports that Kerry has now cancelled some campaign plans (or maybe it was the candidates who cancelled). Either way, it’s gotta feel like a massive hangover headache for the Democrats.
For partisans everywhere, this is the ultimate Trick (for the Democrats) or Treat (for the Republicans)… and the right is flying high on a sugar rush while the left is trying to clean up smashed pumpkins.
It’s absolute madness… but what (if anything) will this mean at the polls?
Joe Gandelman has some good questions and a round-up. Among other things, he notes that this will propel the Iraq debate right back into the spotlight — not the best game plan for the GOP. I agree that there’s some risk there, but the Democrats would have to manage things carefully — not a trait they’re exhibiting at the moment. Joe also says:
One thing is clear: for a professional politician John Kerry should have known better.
Yes, he should have… and I think he’s compounded his gaffe with an offensive defense. As Taylor Marsh wrote:
Okay. But it still doesn’t unwind the tape.
Kerry should just admit he screwed up his statement. It may be ugly, but it’s the truth.
Gaius suspects that the Democrats (or at least, the left edges) won’t understand the extent of the damage — and that’s probably also true. While this sack of Kerry-candy is not as big as the bag of Foley bon bons, the Democrats gobbled up their sugar some time ago; this is fresh… and the GOP was very hungry.
One of the more interesting takes on this came from the Gun Toting Liberal:
For the most part though, I think this may just be the first time I have ever listened to the
Senatorelitist from Massachusetts and felt a compelling interest to lean forward and listen to what the man had to say. When FoxNews commentators are picking on the Democratic Senator for not acting very “Presidential”, you know he got their attention.
I wonder how many people share that view? Because whether it’s been propaganda or reality, the Democrats have looked a tad wimpy in some respects…
If nothing else, though, there are a number of painful lessons being learned this campaign season, eh? Not least of which is that Halloween isn’t just for kids — and for some adults, this one was a nightmare.
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More commentary from a variety of perspectives:
Instapundit
Rightwing Nuthouse
Daily Kos
John Kerry.com blog
Early Warning