Kerry: Apologize? UPDATED

The Comment:

"Education -- if you make the most of it and you study hard and you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq," said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., at a rally at Pasadena City College in California on Monday.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Reaction:

"If Kerry doesn't apologize, we're going to beat him to death until he does," said House majority leader John Boehner, a West Chester Republican, on Fox News.
(Source: Boston Globe, 11/1/06)

"The people who should apologize are George Bush and Mike DeWine for sending our troops into battle without body armor and without examining the cooked intelligence," said Rep. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat trying to unseat Republican Sen. DeWine of Cedarville.
(Source: AP story, 11/1/06)

"What Senator Kerry said was inappropriate. Disrespect for our troops is when Steve Chabot votes against a $1,500 bonus for our men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Democrat John Cranley, a Cincinnati city councilman who is running against Chabot, a Westwood Republican, in Ohio's 1st District.
(Source: Cranley interview by Enquirer reporter Howard Wilkinson, 11/1/06)

"John Cranley continues to refuse to stand up for the brave men and women serving in our military, choosing instead to stand with Sen. John Kerry who will not apologize for insulting our troops," said Chabot for Congress spokeswoman Jessica Towhey. "It is outrageous that someone who claims to support our troops, their families and our veterans would not stand up for them and demand an apology. Our troops deserve better."
(Source: Chabot for Congress news release, 11/1/06)

UPDATE:

Boehner plans to keep talking about Kerry today in the following TV and radio appearances:
4:25 PM EST – CNN’s Situation Room w/ Wolf Blitzer.
5:30 PM EST – Sean Hannity’s nationally syndicated radio show.
9:00 PM EST – Fox News’s Hannity & Colmes

ANOTHER UPDATE:

"As a veteran I am personally offended by the demeaning comments made by John Kerry about our brave men and women in uniform. Our soldiers are not serving our country because they had no other choice. They are serving because they made the greatest choice of all-defending our freedom and keeping us safe. The fact that Sherrod Brown has received so much support from John Kerry and has remained silent on these comments is unacceptable. Unless Sherrod Brown immediately repudiates these despicable comments and returns Kerry’s money, Ohio voters will know exactly where he stands when it comes to defending Ohio men and women in uniform," said Ohio state Sen. Steve Stivers, who is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Ohio Army National Guard and has served in Iraq.
(Source: Ohio Republican Party news release, 11/1/06)

THE UPDATES CONTINUE:

The Republican National Committee just sent out the following link, attacking Brown for being disrespectful to former Secretary of State Colin Powell, a former Army general:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CjlMi2obYo