If the election wasn’t six days away I would tell Kerry to punch the GOP in their throats, but they win this round. For now. VOTE, Dems.
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.
I was afraid he was going to do something like this. Kerry just can’t win for losing.
I do like how he once again brings up their failed security policy tho. The man’s made some stupid mistakes. Here’s hoping he figures it the hell out.
I don’t think this was bad–it was the best he could do to get out of it. He clarified that he wasn’t insulting the troops and he got a dig in at the administration before backing away from the news cycle. Any further Kerry commentary from the right is beating a dead horse, and I’m sure that more important stories will take the fore between now and next Tuesday…like, for example, this obscene situation with Maliki.
“He clarified that he wasn’t insulting the troops …”
It doesn’t matter. Does anyone seriously think that idiot morons like Dugger, pedro or Bush, himself, are going to stop saying “Kerry insulted the troops”? Now they get to attack his apology as well.
How long til we hear: “This wasn’t a sincere apology, just more politics from Kerry.”? Or,”Too little, too late. Kerry has already emboldened our enemies by belittling our troops.”?
Never apologize. Always attack.
And we locked down Sadr City as revenge for the kidnapping of a US soldier, and then Bush backed down, made Sadr look like a king and the US look like wimps. Excuse me, we locked down the city hoping to find the kidnapped soldier. Either way Bush abandoned him and made the US look weak in the process.
Who cares one way or the other? Honestly? I have to say, the RW noise machine’s ability to work the media is fucking amazing. Maybe we’ll have something comparable in 4 more years? Seriously, contrast this with any number of embarrassing Bush blunders. We’ve got nothing on that, at least.
Kerry should be ashamed. He refused to apologize for something he didnt do, namely insulting the troops, and instead clarified his statements to be interpreted how they were intended to be, an attack on our brilliant, wise and virile president, and not, as the presidents supporters so boldly and bravely twisted the words into becoming, an attack on the troops. Clearly this wasn’t a sincere apology, just more politics from Kerry. Too little, too late, I say. Kerry has already emboldened our enemies by belittling our troops. Even though he didnt really, but that doesnt matter because I get to say he did. Also he hates babies, kills puppies, and I heard him talking smack about your mom the other day man, seriously I’d go over there and kick his ass.
Poor sap still can’t get it right. What he should have said was:
“…my poorly stated joke at a rally was not about, and
never intended to refer to any troop. Instead, what I was trying to say was that it was George Bush’s ignorance that got us stuck in Iraq.”
and he should repeat that every time someone brings it up in the range of a microphone. Punch, counterpunch.
You lefties are typical. You have such a twisted world-view, that you assume that everyone else does too.
I for one accept that JFK made a mistatement. I also accept that his apology is heartfelt, and I believe the only criticism to be made is that he didn’t do it sooner, and listened to the morons who told him to just stonewall it. I will also say any republican that doesn’t let it drop now is beating a dead horse. The only exception are those that criticize how long the apology took to come out, and criticism of the morons on the left for whom straight denial regardless of the truth is considered business as usual.
Want to apologize to me now Paul (frameone)?
Too little, too late. We are energized. Kerry may have turned the elections. Just refer to the long list of Democrats who also didn’t like his remarks insulting the troops.
Theresa should withold his allowance.
oh, and I think this apologize derives directly from that photo of the troops on Drudge. How humiliating is that….
Dugger’s statement is a perfect illustration of why Kerry shouldn’t have apologized. Not matter what he says, Dugger will always have an irrational hatred of him. He also seems to be willing to even vote against the Democrats who criticize him. Therefore, there’s little use in not standing up for Kerry.
I don’t know Dugger, 100 dead soldiers last month, more to come before the election. Bush abandoning a kidnapped soldier. A failed policy in Iraq balanced against one mispoken statement by an individual politician.
Half a million dead Iraqis. And what’s “energizing” Dugger and the other soulless conservatives these days? John Kerry.
Conservatism is currently held together by nothing but hate.
Nothing.
But.
Hate.
Yeah, because you guys totally loved Kerry before and were for sure staying home/voting Dem. You guys are the rube base. The whole controversy was created for you. Normal people on either side could care less. John Kerry isn’t the commander in chief. George Bush is, and he’s the one who is keeping us in Iraq forever.
Ollie stop with the historical revisionism.
Something like a dozen democratic lawmakers called for an apology including Clinton, Cardin and Ford. Are THEY the rubes you are referring to?
But dugger is right, the damage is done and will be a big part of the sunday morning talk shows the weekend before the election.
It’s a shame he had to say that, but at least he pointed out that the whole thing is retarded at the same time.
Frankly it’s a shame he said it at all.
It’s not like it’d do anything to quell the rabid loonies on the right, who have been on the defensive for so long now they’re looking for any tiny little thing to hook on to. And lo, they did not disappoint.
The election will be the topic of the Sunday news shows, not a botched joke and the Republican caterwauling about the joke. Plus, has Meet The Press ever energized anyone to change their vote? No.
When will Bush apologize for abandoning that soldier?
sorry Paul….I didn’t mean to get your panties in a wad…
But just exactly who WERE you referring to when you said ” doesn’t matter. Does anyone seriously think that idiot morons like Dugger, pedro or Bush, himself, are going to stop saying “Kerry insulted the troops”? Now they get to attack his apology as well”
Again, I am no PhD candidate (you ARE still a candidate right?) with a prestigious position at a free newspaper, but when someone refers to someone in a discussion by name, I DO assume they are talking to them…
Am I wrong to think that Paul?
And Ollie, do you want to make a small wager that Kerry and his gaffe a big topic on sunday’s shows? I’m guessing not based on your “it’ll never happen, and anyway it won’t change anything when it does…” Talk about prevarication! LOL
“Want to apologize to me now Paul (frameone)?”
First of all, did I mention you specifically? Talk about a twisted worldview, your inflated self-importance shows in your assumption that everyone of my comments is directed at you.
Second of all, go fuck yourself. This whole stupid episode was manufactured by desperate conservatives such as yourself who preferto deal with fantasies instead of reality.
The whole non-issue became a deadhorse when Kerry made it clear that he had mispoken. He never intended the meaning that people took offense to and it should have been enough for him to say, hey, that’s not what I meant. I misspoke.
The president, of course, was aon Rush limbaugh today STILL impplying that Kerry meant what he said and Rush was emphatically, directly stating that Kerry meant what he said.
That makes Rush a fucking liar and Bush a dishonest scumbag for playing along.
Where you fall along that wonderful spectrum I won’t venture a guess.
Oh I guess I did refer directly to you pedro. My mistake. This topic has been dragged out across so many threads. But you’re still an idiot because the only reason why this was an issue in the first place is because of idiot morons such as yourself who pounced on a verbal gaffe as if it was the end of the world.
From the beginning conservatives including yourself have been utterly dishonest about this whole thing, suggesting even after the fact that Kerry meant what he said. In Oliver’s post about Kerry’s response, in which he explained himself, you wrote:
From Dugger: “Too little, too late.”
Gee, how surprising.
Oh and pedro, I did write that you and dugger and others like you would continue to attack kerry over his apology. And you confirmed my expectations with this:
I’d also like to understand your second phrase there. Morons on the left have accepted straight denial over the truth? What does that mean? What truth has been denied by the left? How has anyone on the left been dishonest in this matter?
Kerry misspoke. When he clarified his statement and explained himself yesterday that should have been the end of it. But idiots such as yourself continued to distort what he said by suggesting that he really meant it. Why did you do that pedro, if you value the truth so highly?
The simple answer is that Kerry’s “intent” is knowable, while Bush’s is not. Right, Dugger?
When I wrote the inital statement Paul, Kerry had NOT explained what he meant…and because I CAN’T divine what he was thinking, I had to take him by his words.
You morons thought that he should never apologise though he obviously offended thousands of people with his “mistatement”…in fact you morons thought he should fight HARDER against them. If he had simply apologised immediately, this never would have gotten this far. Kerry falls right into the typical liberal mold…”it wasn’t my fault….it was a right wing conspiracy…I never had sexual relations with that women…etc etc.”
So in short, when Kerry himself made a statement explaining what happened and apologizing, that is when I let it drop.
Clinton, Ford, Tester and Cardin
Now there you have four names to be pissed at.
Thanks for legitimizing Republican talking points, asshats.
The GOP may break out the shiv but you can always count on the dems to drive it in.
“Senator Kerry is a decorated war veteran and I simply refuse to believe that he in any way intended to demean our troops and not the reckless administration who put them in harm’s way. The math is pretty simple. Do I believe a veteran of the Vietnam war who has been a tireless veteran’s advocate or an administration who’s leaders have a combined combat time of zero? Hey, if I were the president and Iraq was hanging around my neck, I’d want to change the subject to.”
See, how hard would it have been to say that? Nice work you self serving f*ckwits.
See paul, a perfect example in Bill here. Kerry makes a mistake, and the people who point it out are the “self-serving fuckwits…”
OK, I’ll concede that Kerry is mired in 2004, and has now given the wingnut cabal a nice diversion for a few days. But bush has mired us in Iraq and no amount of false GOP outrage can change that fact that the GOP’s Katrina foreign policy has screwed us for the long term.
KO has weighed in on the wingnut outrage du jour:
http://www.crooksandliars.com/
Pedro, you moron, did you click the link to the CNN article that Oliver had included in the post? If you had you would have found this:
You didn’t have to read the guy’s mind. You just had to read the news and not be a reactionary dipshit. You’re a fucking idiot.
Since you so obviously need a refreshing course in this, let me explain to you how a reasonable, rational, independent thinking person behaves.
“John Kerry said that only dumb people join the military and end up in Iraq.”
Hmmm, a reasonable, rational, independent thinking person says to themselves, “that doesn’t like something a US politician of any stripe, especially a veteran, would ever say in public or on the record. I’m going to find out more about this story.”
A few minutes on the internet later: “Oh I see, he botched a joke and misspoke. He didn’t really mean what it seemed like he meant.”
Of course, if you get all your “news” from mindless right-wing mushbrains and you yourself are a mushbrain, you fly off the handle and write things like this: “Kerry basically said that it is only the drop-outs who go to war…what a load of bullsh*t.”
And then you start demanding that people apologize for the sinister meaning that you put into circulation in the first place.
Pedro can peddle all the faux outrage she wants, but the only person handling the Kerry situation should have been Kerry. Ford could at least argue that he’s in a close race in a traditionally red state and couldn’t be seen as being down on the military, but Clinton has no excuse. She simply can’t resist any opportunity to boost her profile for ‘08 regardless of how it may or may not impact party credibility.
In looking back at Oliver’s post under discussion he wrote:
And Pedro responded:
But, pedro, Oliver was right and you were wrong — Kerry had mispoken, he announced this to the press and the right wing continued to attack him. But now you want us to believe that a strong response was wrong and that Kerry should have immediately apologized for a meaning he never intended.
You really are a jackass.
Pedro, Dugger, like you keep telling us whenever we criticize Bush or Cheney, “too bad for you guys that Kerry’s not running for anything.”
Har.
Oh, and did I mention that what Kerry was trying to say was, George Bush’s ignorance got us stuck in Iraq?
Truly despicable that the right wingers would take a mistake and promote it loudly for the demoralization of our troops. If they hadn’t started screaming, the troops wouldn’t have heard it. Why do you hate our troops so much? You rather distort a quote to make the soldiers think they are substandard, than to explain the quote meant the President was substandard. Treason, I say, treason.
Limbaugh, to Bush: You’ve spoken about Senator Kerry. He’s now trying to laugh this off by saying he was talking about you, but clearly he has a Vietnam era mind-set… that they’re basically uneducated boobs, but it’s not just Senator Kerry.
Bush: Anybody who is in a position to serve this country ought to understand the consequences of words, and our troops deserve the full support of people in government… what I don’t understand is any diminution of their sacrifice.
Pedro: I will also say any republican that doesn’t let it drop now is beating a dead horse.
So when can we expect you to issue the statement then Pedro?
From someone who was offended, apology accepted. Even if he still blames me and others for misinterpreting the words that came out of his mouth. Even if it is for the sake of political expediency- Democrats who also asked for an apology from him should be commended.
I’ve stayed out of this one, because I somewhat gave Kerry the benefit of the doubt that he “misspoke” or “botched” the joke or whatever his excuse was. He probably should have apologized right away, but whatever. It’s election time and he’s a politician trying to look tough for the netroots now. (”I apologize to no one.”)
I’d even give him credit if he had meant it the way it sounded and apologized for the smear as quickly as possible.
But to blame it on people who heard what they heard? Even uncut and in context
, reasonable people on both the right and the left have interpreted it for how it sounded. In fact, some on the left have cheered it as truth telling- not the botched joke, but the actual words as they were ‘misinterpreted.’
He told two jokes. Then he stopped joking and thanked the crowd and said he’s glad to be there. Then he redirected to why they are there. (”We’re here to talk about education.”) Then he makes a joke that reasonable people might think is unrelated to the first two jokes. Not even the people in the audience seemed too sure about that one- their response is much different than the first two. Some laughed, some gasped.
He made a statement, whether a botched joke or not, that many on the left would argue is true- that people who join the military are the people who can’t do anything else (not getting an education being one those reasons.) It’s the Charlie Rangel theory of why we need a draft. Whether he intended it or not, that’s how it came out.
It’s not about distorting a quote. Nobody distorted what he said. They just played the tape. It’s very clear what he said- in context. Now he has apologized, and we’ll have to hear about it on the Sunday shows instead of real issues. Sorry Oliver- but you know damn well this will still be a fairly big topic on those shows because they haven’t had the chance to talk about it. George S. and Tim R. haven’t had the chance to label it as a “firestorm” yet. Schieffer will probably use it as an excuse to bash Republicans in his final word.
Republicans should be talking about the growing economy and the contrast between Democrats and Republicans in plans for national security and GOTV, and we’re talking about John Freakin’ Kerry. Everybody on both sides of the spectrum know’s Kerry is an idiot- no matter how many votes he got for President.(”I was voted for the 87 million before I voted against it.”) Kerry is at best an also-ran in the 2008 Democratic primary. Though deep down inside, I hope he wins the nomination. That would ensure a Republican President for at least another four years.
In the middle of the last week of this election season, when the president’s policies and actions are central to both democrat and republican campaigns, Kerry comes out and speaks. He opens talking About Bush living in Texas once, but now living in a state of denial. He goes from there to the line about getting stuck in Iraq. In that context its basically clear that he’s still talking about the president. Reasonable people do not disagree. Reasonable people do not ignore the context of the comments to assume something frankly unthinkable, that a decorated veteran and prominent politician would just outright call the troops stupid. Unreasonable people who need in the lizard part of their brains to hate all democrats for any reason at all do. People who need to distract attention from a poorly argued, executed, and operated war and focus on one inarticulately delivered joke do. People who do not make the most of education, who do not study hard, who do not do their homework and who make no effort whatsoever to be smart do.
I guess that those on the left who heard the statement the same way that it sounded and agreed with the “joke” are all stupid too.
Watch the video. He says something about turning the clocks back and makes a joke about Republicans. Then he makes a joke about a different subject- the President. Then he stops to thank people for being there and the warm welcome. Then he seemingly changes the subject again by saying “but we’re here to talk about education…” – which most people would take as no longer talking about the prior subjects.
On education he gives the advice that leads to the “botched” joke that told the students (new subject) “you get stuck in Iraq” (new punchline) if you don’t get an education. My gosh- how could that have been misinterpreted. It sounds just like a Bill Maher joke. (Hasn’t Kerry been on Bill Maher’s show a few times?)
Perhaps it’s just his speechwriter’s fault for the poor structure of the speech. More likely, Kerry just screwed it up. Understandable given he’s been on a heavy stump schedule and is probably tired. Again- I give him the benefit of the doubt.
But damn- you must be blinded by your own prejudices not to see how it could have easily been interpreted the way it was by people both on the left and the right. The some on the left cringed that he said something so stupid until he came out swinging with the “I apologize to no one” press conference.
You think the AmVets and American Legion veterans are too stupid to know what they heard (regardless of what was intended?)
Or do you think that those who realized what Kerry was trying to say and still agree with the misinterpreted version are stupid too?
Yeah, I suppose it was pretty nuanced, and everybody should have known exactly what his words meant. (You know- the words that came out of his mouth- not the ones he meant to say.)
It should have been perfectly clear coming from a man who has always been so careful about what he says about the what troops in the field are doing. It should have been perfectly clear coming from the man who voted for the $87 billion before he voted against it. It should have been perfectly clear coming from a decorated veteran (who years earlier made a big scene of supposedly throwing his medals away) and politician who says our troops in the field are “terrorizing” women and children in the middle of the night.” It should be perfectly clear from a man who has always seen so eye-to-eye with this veterans and troops in the field.
Unthinkable that John Kerry would say something so stupid and so easy to misinterpret?
Not hardly.
Bush and the GOP media manipulators pushed the quote out of context in order to shift the focus away from their own fuckups. That’s the beginning, middle, and end of the story, Marty.
Marty spends 10 paragraphs parsing out what John Kerry “really” meant but accepted the Bush rationale for war without examination.
Only difference is one killed people, and one didn’t.
“I guess that those on the left who heard the statement the same way that it sounded and agreed with the ‘joke’ are all stupid too.”
Are we talking about people on the left who actually think the military is stupid? Yes, I would agree those people are very stupid. Also those on the right who think the military is stupid, are themselves, insanely stupid. There is a point I suppose that can be made about rough demographics and chances of college education vs military service, but such comparisons are ridiculously vulgar. A slightly more relevant thing to mention though is the lowering of troop standards, accepting more and more school dropouts (to say nothing of that autistic kid they enlisted) but again, such arguments that go from there and stretch to the troops as a whole are vulgar, and anyone who would make them is, in my view, a bit damn stupid.
And yes Kerry’s statement was easy to misinterpret. For chrissake he’s John Flipping Kerry. He could have said “I do enjoy cheddar cheese” and it would have been read as an attack on gold old fashioned American cheese. And the next day the headlines would all read “America-Hater Cheese-Bigot Kerry Claims ‘For chrissake we were talking about a sandwich!’” and it wouldnt make a lick of difference. For the same reason it hasnt made a lick of difference to you that in spite of the obvious arguments against the insipid claims of “Kerry R teh filp-flop, voted for the 87 before against” crap, you still feel justified in bringing it up. And given thats the case I cant even be bothered to point out that that phrasing forms an impossible circumstance where the very same spending bill is voted on twice, instead of Kerry in fact voting two different ways on TWO DIFFERENT BILLS that had the same figure attached.
But yes, I suppose I am blinded by my prejudices. Here is the prejudice that blinds me: As far as the idea a sitting senator and decorated military veteran actually saying anything to insinuate that our servicemen and women are incompetant, in the week before an election no less, anyone, ANYONE who would believe something like that, something so contrary to common sense much less political sense, something so inherently unpatriotic, ANYONE who would believe something so patently and obviously at odds with reality, is as stupid as a bag of shit.
That is my prejudice.
I will concede your implied point though, that Kerry is not a very skilled speaker. I would argue though, that he’s got George “Nukular Internets” W “Is our children learning” Bush “I know how hard it is to put food on your family” Jr beat by a mile and a half.
It’s not about conservatives being stupid or liberals being anti-troops, or Kerry and Bush’s relative speaking abilities.
It’s about a) the right wing’s ability to push a dishonest story on the media, and as a related concept, b) the media’s willingness to go along with the GOP’s “story of the day” in order to appear balanced.
Rex- you obviously don’t get it. Can someone be insulting unintentionally? Yes.
Kerry’s statement did just that. He’s a high profile person and gets plenty of media coverage. His words got him into trouble. He insulted a very large group of people that he didn’t want to insult and he apologized.
But you seem to be arguing that all the people who were insulted are just stupid. That’s your opinion and you’re sticking to it.
Out of curiosity, how is examining the demographics of our volunteer military compared to our general population “vulgar?” (Or did you mean something else.)
Seriously- explain that one to me. Don’t some politicians use that as a reason for or against a draft? (Charlie Rangel, for example.) Don’t many people on the left (for lack of a better way to describe them) complain that the military are comprised of mostly the poor and people who can’t do something else and the more wealthy and educated you are the less likely your are to volunteer? I mean, I agree with you in a sense- it’s somewhat vulgar, not to mention factually wrong. But I’d like to hear more of your take on that.
And Doc? I hear ya on those dishonest stories pushed to the media. Dan Rather and Mary Mapes. Thousands being murdered and raped in the Superdome. An innocent protestor just minding his own business getting put in a choke hold by George Allen’s thugs (honest- he never pushed anybody.) The illegal (oops- perfectly legal) and classified SWIFT banking records surveilance program that was leaked.
My apologies, thought I had made that clear. I meant that using such demographic data to back up a claim that the military is less than intelligent (military => less smart) is vulgar. Likewise, I think we agree on this, the reverse application of that theory (less smart => military) is equally vulgar. Which is one of the myriad problems I have with military recruiting not holding itself to reasonable standards, for instance, accepting dropouts and encouraging them to falsify high school diplomas, and buying the dropout a Detox kit to remove traces of drug abuse from their tests. I realize that such is not policy, but it is frankly endemic, and they ought to know better. I dont condone claims that demean the army on the whole, but find it a challenge to support a military that at times seems to go out of its way to support those same claims.
And yes, I argue that anyone who was actually insulted is stupid. You believe a Military man is going to insult the intelligence of our soldiers? You believe a senator is going to claim our military is full of idiots? You think he’s going to do this in public immediately before an election? You think that that one way to look at his comment, out of the context of what he was saying (and who, specifically, he was talking about just a minute ago) is correct in spite of what common sense ought to tell you, and that it is not in need of critical examination on your part, and the absence of the benefit of the doubt? Then yes, you’re a fucking dolt.
“An innocent protestor just minding his own business getting put in a choke hold by George Allen’s thugs”
What is this? First, the guy was in no way a protestor. An agitator, perhaps, but also a constituent. His nuisance questions were indeed met with a chokehold. What point of this story do you believe is untrue?
Oh, and as far as dishonest stories being pushed in the media, lets also add Al Gore inventing the internet, and claiming he was the star of Love Story and John Kerry shooting himself repeatedly and attacking unarmed naked children in the Vietnam jungles to that list, can we?
Rex- I am insulted when someone makes a joke using the word “nigger.” Am I stupid for being insulted even if the joke is made by by a person who I “know” would “never” make a disparaging comment about black people?
Apparently you have never told a joke that unintentionally offended anyone. Nor have you ever been offended by a joke told by someone you never expected to hear it from. I guess that makes me a “fucking dolt.” I thought we’d go have a beer until you said that.
I find it interesting how the “tolerant” and “open” ones are the least likely to be able to see both sides of the coin and feel the need to call people names. Maybe I type angry, which sets you off. (I try to be reasonable.)
Uh- Doc? Do you know who Stark is? Not your typical “constituent.” You may want to look a little deeper into the story. It’s coming out in small bits, but there’s much more than what you’ve read here.
“Rex- I am insulted when someone makes a joke using the word “nigger.” Am I stupid for being insulted even if the joke is made by by a person who I “know” would “never” make a disparaging comment about black people?”
…you’re offended by someone who intends no offense? Um… well… uh then yeah, kinda…
I mean look, offense isn’t the same as like physical injury. It’s possible to be hurt by things that aren’t intended to, like stubbing your toe on the bed. But in the mind? It really doesn’t work that way for me, I don’t really get offended like that from jokes, and certainly not from ones whose offensiveness requires ignoring the context of the statement.
And yes people have told me they’ve been offended by a joke I made or some such (Don’t ask me how to make a three year old boy cry twice), but I’ve been able to discuss things with them, let them know where I’m coming from when I said it and, in those few instances when this has happened, the issue is resolved.
I consider myself tolerant, even of jokes that I don’t like for one reason or another. It isn’t that I don’t understand why and when people are genuinely offended by something when, for instance, they’re missing the context. I can typically see what I feel is their istake in judgement and, as above, try to clarify things if I can. What infuriates me inthis instance is the lengths the right has gone to rob Kerry’s remarks of their context to have him saying something that he clearly wasn’t. So much so that I feel, anyone who heard him say that and honestly believed that, as I said, a sitting senator and former soldier was baselessly insulting military personnel for no reason, is either lying, being willfully ignorant, or yes, just plain stupid.
See, here’s my thing about that: if anything, we “tolerant and open” people call others names to get them not to care when we do. Look man, honestly? If I have offended you by calling you a “fucking dolt” I’m legitimately sorry, but I haven’t used a worse term for you than I would on my own brother. And he and I get along damn fine. Hell I’ve used worse on my friends, man. You’re seriously bothered by that? Really? I’m honestly sorry for that man, but seriously, the idea of offense at that is so foreign to me that I really had no idea you’d take it that way. You can call me a scumsucking son of a whore if you like, I certainly wouldn’t mind that beer. Just extending the hand, seeing if we can’t patch this up.
“Not your typical “constituent.” You may want to look a little deeper into the story. It’s coming out in small bits, but there’s much more than what you’ve read here.”
I don’t understand. Did he sign a statement waiving his right to be free from assault? Otherwise, put up or shut up if there’s “so much more,” Marty.
“Can someone be insulting unintentionally?”
Um, Marty, Kerry wasn’t being unintentionally insulting.
When you unintentionally insult someone it means that you were not aware that the meaning you intended could be insulting to a listener.
But Kerry never intended the meaning of his words. He mangled the delivery of a joke. His intended meaning never actually made it out of his mouth.