Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Kerry Was Just Being Kerry
The buzz over the past couple of days is John Kerry and his remark that, basically, smart kids go to college and get good jobs while dumb kids go into the military. After much outrage he didn't apologize and then kind-of apologized. I've not served on the ground in Iraq (or Afghanistan), but as a Navy man for over twenty years I think I've got a perspective on this.
Was I insulted? No.
Was I outraged? No.
Why? Because I already had very little respect for the man and whatever he had to say his words and opinions do not personally effect me. Do I take it personally when the neighborhood stray takes a dump in my yard? No, because he's just being a dog and I knew long ago he was an obnoxious pest. Perhaps I am cynical, but I expect nothing but condescention and sneering disrespect from that pompous wind-bag anyway (I mean Kerry, not the dog), so it has long ceased bothering me to see Sen. Kerry act like Sen. Kerry. I'll grant him that he probably did not intend for those words to come out like that and he most certainly intended to mean something else, but his whole initial non-apology was because he didn't really see anything wrong with what he said. This crap that "As a combat veteran ... [he] never intended to refer to any troop" is just that. Being a combat veteran does not automatically make you not be an ass, just like being a Naval Officer doesn't automatically make you respect all service members. Talk to anyone who's been in and they're bound to have at least one story of some numbskull officer who thought he was better than the enlisted troops just because he has that commissioning document. I think one would be hard pressed to abuse me of the opinion that Sen. Kerry feels he is better than not only the enlisted service members but the entire officer corps as well. That's just who he is and I'm not loosing any sleep over him acting like the pompous jerk he has repeatedly demonstrated himself to be.
That said, though, I like to see the story get play simply because I believe the more people who have to deal with the fact that this is how Sen. Kerry is and the fact that the Democrats only two short years ago felt he best represented them to be the President, the better informed the American voting public will be.
Was I insulted? No.
Was I outraged? No.
Why? Because I already had very little respect for the man and whatever he had to say his words and opinions do not personally effect me. Do I take it personally when the neighborhood stray takes a dump in my yard? No, because he's just being a dog and I knew long ago he was an obnoxious pest. Perhaps I am cynical, but I expect nothing but condescention and sneering disrespect from that pompous wind-bag anyway (I mean Kerry, not the dog), so it has long ceased bothering me to see Sen. Kerry act like Sen. Kerry. I'll grant him that he probably did not intend for those words to come out like that and he most certainly intended to mean something else, but his whole initial non-apology was because he didn't really see anything wrong with what he said. This crap that "As a combat veteran ... [he] never intended to refer to any troop" is just that. Being a combat veteran does not automatically make you not be an ass, just like being a Naval Officer doesn't automatically make you respect all service members. Talk to anyone who's been in and they're bound to have at least one story of some numbskull officer who thought he was better than the enlisted troops just because he has that commissioning document. I think one would be hard pressed to abuse me of the opinion that Sen. Kerry feels he is better than not only the enlisted service members but the entire officer corps as well. That's just who he is and I'm not loosing any sleep over him acting like the pompous jerk he has repeatedly demonstrated himself to be.
That said, though, I like to see the story get play simply because I believe the more people who have to deal with the fact that this is how Sen. Kerry is and the fact that the Democrats only two short years ago felt he best represented them to be the President, the better informed the American voting public will be.
