Ah, Politics.

Just when I thought there was no way the Dems could screw up the elections this year, John Kerry makes a bone-headed remark (telling students that if they don't get educated they'll get "stuck in Iraq") that manages to insult all our troops and give the Reps a second wind to point out how smug the Dems are, all in one fell swoop.

Congratulations, Senator Kerry. You screwed it up!

At the same time, I can't help but find the whole thing quite comical and overblown. The remark, in itself, was supposed to be a jab at the president, implying that he's a bonehead that got us into a situation we can't get out of. So of course, as usual, Kerry's strategy was to point and complain, rather than offer a solution himself.

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if we had someone legitimately "wacky" in office like a Ross Perot - someone who has zero "political filter" and shoots from the hip, no matter how insane it is. Imagine this:

Perot: "Listen kids, you better get yourself educated or you're going to be stuck in Iraq."
The Media: "Oh my God! Did he really just say that?!"
Perot: "Damn straight, you sonsabitches! I'm a businessman, not a politician! I'm not here to cater to your whiny-asses, I'm here to make us all rich! Now shut the hell up and get me some whiskey!"
The Media: Speechless!

It's kind of like when our president was asked about his drug use, and instead of making up a bunch of nonsense like Clinton, he basically implied that he used to smoke crack on a regular basis - the details are fuzzy - but whatever he said, it worked because the media were legitimately stumped. It's the backpedaling that gets you in trouble, people!