Just a Vapor

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. And if you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.

John Kerry

The news and commentariate is abuzz with this quote over the last day. What amazes me is the double-standard in the media. People have a tendency to say really stupid things. I personally have firmly planted my foot in my mouth more times than I’d like to count, and imagine that if I were regularly in the public spotlight it would get worse. However, most people quickly realize that they said something stupid, get embarrassed, and apologize, so you’d think that Kerry would be tripping over himself to get in front of as many cameras as possible to take his words back. However, he said later that he apologizes to no one for his statement, which clearly slams people in the military.

The left just will not acknowledge when it is wrong. Imagine if Rick Santorum, the Republican Senator from Pennsylvania, were to say to a group of high-schoolers “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. And if you don’t, you will have to join a union.” That man would be scolded not only by the left – probably demanding that he resign, but the Republican party would likely reprimand him as well. Not so for the left. John Kerry can say whatever he likes and he gets no flack from his cohorts on the left.

I do think it’s interesting though, that despite his insistence that the right has skewed his comments on his own website, he does not attempt to set the record straight by putting the clip of him saying it on his website in order for people to see that he was taken out of context and mischaracterized. He has also cancelled all campaigning today, the day after. He was supposed to be in Minnesota today, campaigning for Amy Klobuchar, the Democratic candidate for Senate and in a very close race. Why would he cancel? If he was misunderstood, then it should be easy to set the record straight with no fear of damaging the Klobuchar campaign.

Kerry’s foot is still in his mouth, but before he can remove it he will need to get his head out of his ass.