We all say and do things we regret later. We are all human, and mistakes happen. Most of the time, I have sympathy for people whose mistakes are analyzed by the public so much that it makes a mockery of their lives.

However, there is a difference between making an honest mistake and blatant stupidity, and I have no sympathy for someone who possesses the latter, especially when they are and have been in the spotlight.

The war is a touchy subject with many people. It is a political issue, it is a personal issue and it is a governmental issue. Whether or not you agree with the war, you should have the maturity to support the troops who are fighting it.

Now, I have heard some pretty stupid comments in my time, but the recent word vomit spewed by Sen. John Kerry is by far the worst. While addressing a group of students at Pasadena City College in California, Kerry said the following: “You know education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. And if you don’t you get stuck in Iraq.”

Kerry later released a statement saying that his comment was ” … misinterpreted to wrongly imply anything negative about those in uniform.” I think the only thing that was misinterpreted concerning Kerry was his intelligence and his ability as an elected official.

Kerry is not only being criticized by Republicans for this blunder — many Democrats have voiced their disappointment as well. According to a recent report on FoxNews.com, Democratic Senate candidate Jon Tester voiced his opinion that Kerry’s comment was ” … poorly worded and just plain stupid.”

I could not agree with you more, Jon.

David Letterman threw his two cents in on his late night talk show recently by commenting on the irony that now Kerry is losing elections he is not even running in. TouchŽ.

After the immediate verbal thrashing, Kerry decided to publicize an apology. It sounds more like political agenda to me, but I will let you decide for yourself. In a statement posted on his website, Kerry said, “As a combat veteran, I want to make it clear to anyone in uniform and to their loved ones: my poorly stated joke at a rally was not about, and never intended to refer to any troop.” I do not know what kind of cracked-out jokes Kerry was told as a child, but nothing about what he said was even close to the line between slightly funny and crickets chirping.

After his robotic apology, Kerry went on to say, “It is clear the Republican Party would rather talk about anything but their failed security policy. I don’t want my verbal slip to be a diversion from the real issues.” Is this guy serious? Senator, you just made an asinine statement that criticized the troops who have volunteered to protect you by putting their lives on the line whether you meant to or not, and after some generic apology, you make a pathetic attempt to pin the negativity on Republicans? Wow, that’s sad, even for you.

What was perhaps even worse was Kerry’s response to a question concerning a possible apology. Kerry responded to inquiries concerning this by saying, “Of course, I’m sorry about a botched joke. You think I love botched jokes? I mean, it’s pretty stupid.” Um, I’m pretty sure the person interviewing Kerry was concerned more with the mistake that offended the troops and their families, not that Kerry messed up his infantile attempt at making a funny.

Like most self-righteous politicians, Sen. Kerry will never release a sincere apology. His ego prevents him from ever placing the blame on himself, at least not directly.

When I think of an apology, I think more along the lines of “I was wrong, and I’m sorry for what I said,” not “My words were misinterpreted, and look at what that guy over there just did.”

These events came just before Kerry’s announcement that he will not be campaigning for any candidate in the upcoming elections. On one hand, I am glad that I will not have to see his face on the T-shirts of moronic celebrities trying to get attention. On the other hand, he is doing any candidate he would have supported a favor by backing out, and they are not the people I want getting favors.

E-mail Meghan at [email protected].