by Ana Marie Cox

Perhaps you've heard about John Kerry telling young people to get an education lest they "get stuck in Iraq." Classic elitist liberal stereotyping. (Public relations officials will assure you that the new "Army Strong" slogan is ironically ungrammatical. Like, uhm, the Star Trek intro.) Today, that comment was met today with an indignant response from the White House, saying, "Senator Kerry not only owes an apology to those who are serving, but also to the families of those who've given their lives in this." Kerry responded with this:

"This is the classic GOP playbook. 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."

Well, that's both articulate and legitimate. A strong defense that turns the tables on the White House and redirects attention to their weaknesses.

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH THE REAL JOHN KERRY?

John McCain, whose Marine son is likely to serve in Iraq, called for Kerry to apologize and explained that the

suggestion that only the least educated Americans would agree to serve in the military and fight in Iraq, is an insult to every soldier serving in combat, and should deeply offend any American with an ounce of appreciation for what they suffer and risk so that the rest of us can sleep more comfortably at night.

Without them, we wouldn't live in a country where people securely possess all their God-given rights, including the right to express insensitive, ill-considered and uninformed remarks.

Thoughtful, measured, dispassionate... WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH THE REAL JOHN MCCAIN?

Next you'll be telling us that McCain plays drinking games with Hillary Clinton or John Kerry thinks he can run for President again!

UPDATE: Well, this is less of a surprise and more like a genuine 2004 flashback: The President himself will be addressing the issue. Imagine how thrilled the White House is to be talking about John Kerry again! At this point, the administration is so desperate to talk about ANYTHING but Iraq proper, they're probably hoping someone gives Mark Foley a laptop.

A couple of more unusual things about this move. First, the White House sent out Bush's statement on Kerry prior to his giving, "as prepared for delivery," which is usually the kind of thing they do for MAJOR EVENT, not a campaign stop in Georgia. Second, they go through the trouble name John Kerry, which must be nice for him.

As for the Democrats, well, it's not like Kerry will lose any more supporters...

The remarks themselves:

I cannot tell you how proud I am to be the Commander-in-Chief of such incredibly brave men and women who have volunteered to wear the uniform of the United States. And even in the midst of a heated campaign season, there are still some things we should all be able to agree on -- and one of the most important is that every one of our troops deserves our gratitude -- and respect. Yesterday Democrat Senator John Kerry was speaking to a group of young people in California, and gave them this advice, quote: "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. If you don't you get stuck in Iraq."

The Senator's suggestion that the men and women of our military are somehow uneducated is insulting and shameful. Our troops did not enlist because they did not study hard in school or do their homework. The men and women who serve in our all-volunteer Armed Forces are plenty smart and are serving because they are patriots – and Senator Kerry owes them an apology.

Whatever party you belong to, whatever you think about the war in Iraq, we should all agree that our troops deserve our unwavering support. And when it comes to supporting our men and women in uniform, I don't have any doubt where Mac Collins is going to land. He is a strong supporter of the military. And he knows what I know: Any time you have American troops in harm's way, they have the right to expect the full support of the American government.