The Deconstruction of a Bad Joke

The Premise:

Is Kerry the victim of a poorly delivered joke, or a Freudian slip?

The Joke:

"You know, education, if you make the most of it, if you study hard and you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, uh, you, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."

The Givens:

1. President George W. Bush is an intellectual light-weight
2. Senator John F. Kerry is George W. Bush's intellectual superior

As to the Premise:
1. Despite Kerry's military service, and his statements to the contrary, it is generally understood that Kerry has little like or respect for the military and it's men and women in uniform.

a) Winter Soldier: Kerry's official statement that American troops, including himself, engaged in acts of torture reminiscent of Ghengis Khan.
b) Kerry's voting record which reveals a pattern of undermining the military in regard to weapons projects.
c) Kerry's vote FOR the war in Iraq, before his vote against it.

It is therefore safe to conclude that John Kerry has little love for the military.


2. It is undeniable that Kerry has little love for George W. Bush. Innumberable statements made by Kerry bear this truth out.

It is therefore safe to assume that Kerry could very well have attempted a joke in poor taste at the expense of the President of the United States of America. He's done it before.


As to the Givens:
Within the text of the Joke is no mention of George W. Bush; not a hint. Not even a smidge of nuance. If this was a poorly delivered joke, it had all the hallmarks of a comedic moron. Couple that with the fact that this is a US Senator; A member of the brightest and best... A member of the political elite. According to statements made by Kerry and others, George W. Bush's intellect is no match for Kerry's. And while Bush makes jokes about his own stumbled speech, it would seem Kerry's GPA at Yale was less than that of GW's.

"In 1999, The New Yorker published a transcript indicating that Bush had received a cumulative score of 77 for his first three years at Yale and a roughly similar average under a non-numerical rating system during his senior year...

"Kerry, who graduated two years before Bush, got a cumulative 76 for his four years, according to a transcript that Kerry sent to the Navy when he was applying for officer training school. He received four D's in his freshman year out of 10 courses, but improved his average in later years...

"The transcript shows that Kerry's freshman-year average was 71. He scored a 61 in geology, a 63 and 68 in two history classes, and a 69 in political science. His top score was a 79, in another political science course. Another of his strongest efforts, a 77, came in French class.

"Under Yale's grading system in effect at the time, grades between 90 and 100 equaled an A, 80-89 a B, 70-79 a C, 60 to 69 a D, and anything below that was a failing grade. In addition to Kerry's four D's in his freshman year, he received one D in his sophomore year. He did not fail any courses.

" "I always told my Dad that D stood for distinction," Kerry said yesterday in a written response to questions, noting that he has previously acknowledged that he spent a lot of time learning to fly instead of focusing on his studies."

'D stands for Distinction'... THAT wasn't a poorly delivered joke.

So Bush did better at Yale than Kerry-- granted, by one point --But that's hardly the mark of an mental deficient. It follows then that the premise that this was a joke directed at Bush doesn't wash in light of the fact that Bush is actually smarter-- judging strictly by GPA's --than Kerry.

The first attempt at covering Kerry's gaffe: "Everyone knew I was talking about Bush" But the people on the stage with him looked uncomfortable with his remark. Next came the current excuse: It was a joke that came out slightly mangled.

What's worse is Kerry's steadfast refusal to apologize, and his attempts at shifting blame to the 'failed Bush policy' in Iraq. If it was nothing more than a mangled joke, why bother shifting the blame? And why refuse to offer an apology to those he 'may have offended' by his poorly delivered joke? Because he's not sorry.

"Let me make it crystal clear, as crystal clear as I know how. I apologize to no one for my criticism of the president and of his broken policy. If anyone owes our troops in the fields an apology, it is the president and his failed team and a Republican majority in the Congress that has been willing to stamp -- rubberstamp policies that have done injury to our troops and to their families.

"My statement yesterday -- and the White House knows this full well -- was a botched joke about the president and the president's people, not about the troops. The White House's attempt to distort my true statement is a remarkable testament to their abject failure in making America safe..."

'[F]ailure in making America safe'??? America not being struck by another terrorist attack since 9.11 means we haven't been kept safe?


Mangled Joke or Freudian Slip?:

"I apologize to no one..."

Which is why there's no reason to believe this was anything more than a Freudian slip of the tongue. This is what he really feels about American troops. Only the poor stupid uneducated... un-nuanced... enter the military.

From the Heritage Foundation (h/t MichelleMalkin.com):

"According to a comprehensive study of all enlistees for the years 1998-99 and 2003 that The Heritage Foundation just released, the typical recruit in the all-volunteer force is wealthier, more educated and more rural than the average 18- to 24-year-old citizen is. Indeed, for every two recruits coming from the poorest neighborhoods, there are three recruits coming from the richest neighborhoods.

"If, for example, we consider the education of every recruit, 98% joined with high-school diplomas or better. By comparison, 75% of the general population meets that standard. Among all three-digit ZIP code areas in the USA in 2003 (one can study larger areas by isolating just the first three digits of ZIP codes), not one had a higher graduation rate among civilians than among its recruits."

A couple of clueless pundits on the CBS Evening News this evening seemed to think Kerry's Gaffe would be forgotten by tomorrow. And yet many people are calling for an apology, while Kerry steadfastly refuses. Michael Savage this evening said this is what steals the House from Democrats. I'm not so sure about that, but then it all depends on how long this stays in the news, and how obstinate Kerry remains throughout it all.

This could very well have been a reverse-October Surprise. But then somewhere out in Moonbatland there will be the usual conspiracy theories, like this one....

This was another Rovian plot!!!! Karl Rove somehow managed to spike Kerry's evian causing him to loose his otherwise firm verbal grasp of nuance!!! This is all the chimp's fault!!!