Politicians as stand-up comedians

Obviously John Kerry should stick to politics, or at the very least, stick to the script. Political discussions are not considered scintillating conversation by the general population so our "leaders" like to enliven their speeches with humorous anecdotes and one-liners. Kerry attempted a one-liner but botched it by going for brevity instead of clarity. Only Jerry Sienfeld should attempt this.

According to the Kerry camp the one-liner went like this: "Do you know where you end up if you don't study, if you aren't smart, if you're intellectually lazy? You end up getting us stuck in a war in Iraq. Just ask President Bush."

What Kerry actually said: "Education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, and you can do well. And if you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."

It seems obvious to me that the attempt was to chastise the brain-trust that is prosecuting this war but POTUS and company have turned it into a slight against the troops themselves and demanded that Kerry apologize which he has refused to do.

Kerry is falling into the trap again like every politician does when the going gets tough. Denial (I am not a crook, I did not have sex with that woman), and arrogance (I have nothing to apologize for) only serve to stoke the flames. I'm convinced that if Clinton and Nixon had stepped up and apologized right away there would have been no impeachment or resignation. Politicians never learn.

What should Kerry be doing? Clarify his comment. Apologize for any offense that the misunderstanding has engendered and renew his criticisms of the decisions being made on the prosecution of the war. Demand that his clarification be a part of any discussion that the current administration wants to have about his statements (i.e. If my clarification is not part of an ad or discussion about my initial comment, then you are not being given the whole story).

Sigh....Unfortunately that will not happen. Kerry will stand firm allowing the administration to beat him unmercilessly for the next seven days, damaging the Democratic agenda and diverting attention from the real issues of the day which should be the prosecution of the war.