THE TENSION: Sorry Kerry Apologizes Online

"He was for the joke before he was against it."
GIS DROP SMART BOMB ON KERRY
HILARIOUS HEROES FIRE BACK OVER DEM AND DUMBER CRACK ABOUT IRAQ
WASHINGTON (New York Post) -- A group of GIs showed they are smart enough to take on condescending Sen. John Kerry - by deploying a hilariously misspelled sign mocking the failed presidential candidate's comments about their education. Read it.

9/11 AND IRAQ VET TO KERRY: STOP STEALING SADDAM'S OLD TALKING POINTS
November 2, 2006 (New York Post) -- In a moving letter to The Post, a heroic New Yorker serving in Iraq had a blunt message yesterday for John Kerry - lay off the troops!

Open Line/full coverage:

Due to his 2004 Democrat presidential candidacy, John Kerry is the leader of the Democrat Party. It appears Kerry has canceled all of his remaining campaign appearances. If Kerry has been shut down because of his comments, what does that say about who is in control of the party . . . about Kerry's political future?

While John Kerry didn't say it in person, he text messaged a belated attack-apology to the troops on his Web site. Reuters reports Democratic Sen. John Kerry apologized directly to U.S. troops on Wednesday for comments about Iraq that had prompted a firestorm of criticism from Republicans and President George W. Bush. Check out the text as posted on johmkerry.com.

Senator Kerry, Media Darling
The media have circled the wagons around the junior senator from Massachusetts.
By Thomas Sowell
(NRO) -- Candidates are not the only major factors in this year’s elections. The media have taken a big role -- and a biased role. Read it

Kerry's '72 Army Comments Mirror Latest
WASHINGTON (AP) -- During a Vietnam-era run for Congress three decades ago, John Kerry said he opposed a volunteer Army because it would be dominated by the underprivileged, be less accountable and be more prone to "the perpetuation of war crimes."

"I am convinced a volunteer army would be an army of the poor and the black and the brown," Kerry wrote. "We must not repeat the travesty of the inequities present during Vietnam. I also fear having a professional army that views the perpetuation of war crimes as simply 'doing its job."

How the John Kerry/Iraq Story Really Broke
By John Ziegler
The way that the story of John Kerry’s comments about education and getting “stuck in Iraq” became blockbuster news is rather humorous and tells us a lot about the nature of our modern news media. Believe it or not, there was a very excellent chance that Kerry’s comments could have been made without creating anything close to even a minor incident. There are many reasons why that rather likely scenario was not allowed to occur. Here is how it really all went down. Read it.

Who Are the Recruits? The Demographic Characteristics of U.S. Military Enlistment, 2003–2005
By Tim Kane, Ph.D.
(Heritage Foundation) -- A pillar of conventional wisdom about the U.S. military is that the quality of volunteers has been degraded after the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. Examples of the voices making this claim range from the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and New York Daily News to Michael Moore’s pseudo-documentary Fahrenheit 9/11. Some insist that minorities and the underprivileged are overrepresented in the military. Others accuse the U.S. Army of accepting unqualified enlistees in a futile attempt to meet its recruiting goals in the midst of an unpopular war. Reat it.

Rove: Insulting Military Is a Kerry 'Habit'
WASHINGTON, Nov. 1, 2006 (ABC News) -- Karl Rove, President Bush's top adviser, talked to ABC News' Ann Compton about the remarks that Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., said were a botched joke about the president, not an attack on the troops fighting in Iraq.

Kerry Belittles U.S. Troops

Kerry warns students: Educate yourself or you'll get stuck in Iraq.

Bush: "Kerry Comments Insulting and Shameful"

Full Transcript: Remarks by the President at Georgia Victory 2006 Rally
"The Senator's suggestion that the men and women of our military are somehow uneducated is insulting and it is shameful." Read it.

John McCain Calls on Kerry To Apologize
Senator Kerry owes an apology to the many thousands of Americans serving in Iraq, who answered their country's call because they are patriots and not because of any deficiencies in their education. Americans from all backgrounds, well off and less fortunate, with high school diplomas and graduate degrees, take seriously their duty to our country, and risk their lives today to defend the rest of us in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere.

They all deserve our respect and deepest gratitude for their service. The suggestion that only the least educated Americans would agree to serve in the military and fight in Iraq, is an insult to every soldier serving in combat, and should deeply offend any American with an ounce of appreciation for what they suffer and risk so that the rest of us can sleep more comfortably at night. Without them, we wouldn't live in a country where people securely possess all their God-given rights, including the right to express insensitive, ill-considered and uninformed remarks. Read it (pdf).

John Kerry Responds
While no right-wing attack goes unanswered, terrorist attacks, however, are a different story:
Senator John Kerry issued a statement in response to White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, assorted "right wing nut-jobs," and right wing talk show hosts who Kerry feels are desperately distorting his comments. Read it.

White House Spokesman Slams Kerry Remark
Our favorite far-left AP reporter, Jennifer Loven, writes that the White House accused Sen. John Kerry on Tuesday of troop-bashing, seizing on a comment the Democrat made to California students that those unable to navigate the country's education system "get stuck in Iraq."

"Senator Kerry not only owes an apology to those who are serving, but also to the families of those who've given their lives in this," White House press secretary Tony Snow said. "This is an absolute insult."

American Legion to Sen. Kerry: Apologize Now

AMVETS Calls on Senator to Apologize to Troops

Marine's Family Urges Kerry To Learn More About Military
Senator's Comments About Iraq, Troops Draw Criticism
BOSTON (WCVB-TV) -- The mother of a local Marine who was killed in Iraq spoke out Tuesday about the comments that Sen. John Kerry made about U.S. troops and education. Read it.

Iowa candidate asks Kerry to cancel campaign visit
DES MOINES, Iowa (WPRI) -- A Democratic Congressional candidate from Iowa is canceling a campaign event later this week with Senator John Kerry.

Kerry cancels Minnestoa appearance
(Free Press) -- The dueling rallies scheduled for Mankato today on behalf of Republican congressman Gil Gutknecht and Democratic challenger Tim Walz lost some of their pizzaz Tuesday night when Sen. John Kerry pulled out of the Democratic rally.

IMUS ON PHONE TO KERRY: Please stop it....

IMUS TO KERRY: 'Please stop it. Stop talking. Go home, get on the bike, go wind surfing, anything, stop it. You're going to ruin this'...

Did Kerry Hand Republicans a November gift?
(ABC News) -- For weeks, Republicans on the campaign trail have been looking for something --anything -- to talk about other than the record of the Republican Congress and the way the Bush administration has conducted the war in Iraq.

What's unclear is if Kerry's comments will help rally Republican voters or help their party portray Democrats as against the troops to score victories next Tuesday. A Democratic congressman told ABC News Tuesday, "I guess Kerry wasn't content blowing 2004, now he wants to blow 2006, too."