No Apology. No Excuse.

Kerry said what he was thinking. And today he said this:

I'm sick and tired of these despicable Republican attacks that always seem to come from those who never can be found to serve in war, but love to attack those who did.

I'm not going to be lectured by a stuffed suit White House mouthpiece standing behind a podium, or doughy Rush Limbaugh, who no doubt today will take a break from belittling Michael J. Fox's Parkinson's disease to start lying about me just as they have lied about Iraq. It disgusts me that these Republican hacks, who have never worn the uniform of our country lie and distort so blatantly and carelessly about those who have.

But, Senator, you're the one who came home and initiated your political career in the anti-war movement and testified that our troops were committing atrocities. And just this year you spoke of how our troops were entering houses terrorizing women and children. Yes, you were in the Navy, but you've been part of the liberal hate America left ever since.

Everybody knows how the left views our men and women in the military. This is the kind of thing Kerry's probably said and heard thousands of times in private conversations. As in Trent Lott's case, those lines just slip out sometimes when you're not sufficiently alert.

Update: Kerry is off the campaign trail. The story is burning up the blogsphere, both pro and con. He's being disowned by other Democrats. His story that his remark was a joke told wrong isn't going to wash. If he was trying to joke about Bush being dumb, how does he explain the fact that Bush had higher grades than he? On Imus' show, he insisted that he told the truth in the 1970s about Vietnam and that he's telling the truth now about Iraq. He's getting no traction whatsoever, and he doesn't seem to get what has happened.

He also doesn't seem to understand that our military these days are all volunteers and the armed forces doesn't take just anybody. There's too much technical training required.