Kerry Botched a Joke...

...Bush Botched a War. And we have been paying for his mistakes with the blood of America's children, which has been running in the streets alongside the blood of Iraqi civilians--about 650,000 of them.

But let's do step back and put this in perspective, shall we? Compare Kerry's bungle (presented and disected by Keith Olbermann) to the words of the Commander in Chief and his chosen staff, which in contrast to the words of Senator Kerry, actually have caused irreparable and tangible harm to our troops:

• "Bring 'em on." -President George Bush [CNN]
• "...weeks rather than months." -Vice President Dick Cheney [Washington Post]
• "My belief is we will, in fact, be greeted as liberators." -Vice President Dick Cheney [Washington Post]
• "They want to the get rid of Saddam Hussein, and they will welcome as liberators the United States when we come to do that." -Vice President Dick Cheney Washington Post]
• "The campaign will be unlike any we have ever seen in the history of warfare, with breathtaking precision, almost eye-watering speed, persistence, agility and lethality." -Vice Admiral Timothy Keating, commander of U.S. naval forces in the Gulf [Washington Post]
• "It could last, you know, six days, six weeks. I doubt six months." -Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld [Washington Post]
• "Support for Saddam, including within his military organization, will collapse at the first whiff of gunpowder." -Former Pentagon Chairman Richard Perle [Washington Post]
• "I don't know anyone who thought this would be a war without resistance." - Former Pentagon Chairman Richard Perle (after the war began) [Washington Post]
• "Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed." -President George Bush [Whitehouse.gov]
• "I have a special word for Secretary Rumsfeld, for General Franks, and for all the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States: America is grateful for a job well done." -President George Bush (being careful to use the troops as shields in this praise of Rumsfeld and Franks) [Whitehouse.gov]
• "It's very important for us to stay the course, and we will stay the course." -President George Bush [US Department of Defense]
• "As you know, you go to war with the Army you have. They're not the Army you might want or wish to have at a later time." - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld [Washington Post]
• And let's not overlook this Bush laugh riot [WH Correspondents' Dinner, 2004].

Oh, just for fun, shall we now take a look at the GOP take on Clinton's humanitarian, UN-approved involvement in Bosnia:

• "You can support the troops but not the president." --Rep Tom Delay (R-TX)
• "Well, I just think it's a bad idea. What's going to happen is they're going to be over there for 10, 15, maybe 20 years." --Joe Scarborough (R-FL)
• "Explain to the mothers and fathers of American servicemen that may come home in body bags why their son or daughter have to give up their life?" --Sean Hannity, Fox News,
• "[The] President . . . is once again releasing American military might on a foreign country with an ill-defined objective and no exit strategy. He has yet to tell the Congress how much this operation will cost. And he has not informed our nation's armed forces about how long they will be away from home. These strikes do not make for a sound foreign policy." --Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA)
• "If we are going to commit American troops, we must be certain they have a clear mission, an achievable goal and an exit strategy." --Karen Hughes, speaking on behalf of George W Bush
• "I had doubts about the bombing campaign from the beginning . . I didn't think we had done enough in the diplomatic area." --Senator Trent Lott (R-MS)
• "Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the President to explain to us what the exit strategy is." --Governor George W. Bush (R-TX)

Oh, you can just smell the GOP outrage against the injustice of deploying troops to bring humanitarian aid to Bosnia, with international support no less, and the righteous indignation over the poor strategic planning in Bosnia, where not one U.S. soldier died. The odor you smell, by the way, is that of virulent hypocricy and false patriotism mingled together in a morality vacuum chamber.

Bush recently revealed that controlling the oil fields was his reason for attacking and occupying Iraq. Recall that Cheney's Energy Taskforce, convened before we attacked Iraq, involved Iraq oil field maps. Any day now, the deal will be cut on control of Iraq's oil fields, involving the usual suspects (Bush's oil cabal). It's wrong to make money on other people's blood.

I ask but one question: Who needs to apologize to the troops?

I know how history will answer.

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Oil History Lesson
Kerry Swiftboat Redux