John Kerry: I'm sorry the GOP media spun me

If you've so much as flipped through the channels on your TV, you're no doubt aware that John Kerry is being thoroughly lambasted by pundits, Republicant's and many of the Democrats over something he said during a speech the other day. News coverage suggests that Kerry has been leveling insults directly at "the troops." The quote in question:

"if you study hard ... you can do well ...[but if] you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."

Video including Olberman commentary here

"Wow! Obviously Kerry thinks the troops are R-tards! He should apologize to the troops" bemoan the Republican spinmeisters. "Kerry attacks the troops!" parrots the mindless media. However, if you are a rational person, the thought might occur to you that perhaps Kerry was mischaracterized or quoted out of context, being that he is a VETERAN. If you were this kind of person, you might have heard Kerry's claim that he misspoke, and that the comment was part of a wider attack on Bush's policy mistakes. You might even have heard what he had prepared and had meant to say:

"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."

Then again, if you were that kind of person, you wouldn't be 99% of news reporters. Or Hillary Clinton, or many other Democratic politicians from the not-so-bright department of the caucus. What is worse than letting Republicans paint you? Agreeing with them. John Kerry refused to concede to the spin, though. After repeated calls for an apology for something he never did, he said this:

As a combat veteran, I want to make it clear to anyone in uniform and to their loved ones: my poorly stated joke at a rally was not about, and never intended to refer to any troop.

I sincerely regret that my words were misinterpreted to wrongly imply anything negative about those in uniform, and I personally apologize to any service member, family member, or American who was offended.

It is clear the Republican Party would rather talk about anything but their failed security policy. I don’t want my verbal slip to be a diversion from the real issues. I will continue to fight for a change of course to provide real security for our country, and a winning strategy for our troops.

The media reported that Kerry apologized for making fun of the troops.

If you are stupid enough to believe that veteran John Kerry was making fun of US troops, during a campaign speech for fellow Democrats, please drink a tall glass of bleach. If you don't, you obviously hate the troops.