The Independent Student Voice of PCC, Serving Pasadena Since 1915
Volume 94, Issue 11
11.02.06
Pasadena City j College
- r
Botched Joker
Jokes turned into controversy after John
Kerry made comments suggesting students
who are uneducated could end up in Iraq.
Stacey Wang
News Editor
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) brewed up a
storm of controversy after making a com¬
ment about the intelligence of the military
personnel during a Democratic campaign
to boost support for gubernatorial candi¬
date Phil Angelides in the Creveling
Lounge on Monday.
Before making his speech on behalf of
Angelides, Kerry joked about President
Bush’s state of denial and deception. He
then made a statement many Republicans,
including Bush, felt was an attack on sol¬
diers being uneducated. “Education: If you
make the most if 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,” said Kerry.
Scattered laughter along with murmurs
of displeasure could be heard throughout
the audience.
Kerry later called his comments a
“botched joke.” He said he intended to
demean Bush, not the military. According
to Forbes.com, Kerry’s speech was origi¬
nally written for him to say, “you end up
getting us stuck in a war in Iraq” instead of
“you get stuck in Iraq.”
From the moment of awkward silence
and whispers of dissent, the statement sur¬
prised most of those in attendance. “When I
first heard it I was taken aback by it. But
when I reflected on it later, and the next few
days, I’m sure Sen. Kerry didn’t mean to
demean those who served and are now serv¬
ing in Iraq, or to say we are not smart, or
uneducated,” said student Ian Harris, 24.
Harris, a member of the AS Lobby Commit¬
tee, served in Iraq in the Marine Corps.
“I thought he stepped over the line. He
shouldn’t have said that. Mentioning the
troops is not an insult to the President,” said
student Linda Chase, 19, liberal arts major.
However, many students and faculty
understood his statement to mean that many
soldiers joined the military as an alternative
to college. “[Kerry’s comment] is a political
statement. It’s designed to make a certain
Sen. Kerry takes time to review his speech right before he goes on stage.
point about Iraq. It’s mainly fought by folks
who feel they don’t have a place in college,”
said Dr. Harold Martin, a Veteran’s Club
member.
During a call-in interview with MSNBC’s
Don Imus, Kerry stated, “It’s just a disgrace¬
ful thing when people try to assert that
somebody like me, who has spent 35 years
of my life fighting for veterans, standing up
for veterans, fighting for their combat pay,
fighting for Agent Orange recognition, fight¬
ing for their armor, fighting for their up-
armored Humvees, fighting for them to have
a strategy that wins, fighting to honor them
that the notion that this comment was
directed at them is an insult by these guys,
and they know it. I mean, that’s really the
bottom line here.”
Kerry has decided to cancel future cam¬
paign tours with Democratic candidates
because of Monday’s statement, claiming
that he would be distraction to their cause.
Voices
The recent comments Sen. Kerry made during the
democratic rally on Monday created the recent
mud-slinging between President Bush and Sen.
Kerry and continues the debate over the validity of
U.S. occupation in Iraq. Do you think Kerry’s com¬
ments were wrong?
“He was probably being cryptic and is being
misunderstood because whenever he gave a
detailed description, people didn’t have the
attention span. ”
— Dr. Harold Martin, 50, Social Sciences
“He said it in a bad way. He was trying to
tell a joke, but there is truth behind what he
said. ”
— Brooke Rocha, 35, Nursing
“I disagree with Kerry’s statement, a lot of
it is the educational system failing these kids.
His words are wrong. I don’t think he’s try¬
ing to insult the troops. ”
— Melissa Karlsten, 19, Business
“Kerry wasn’t insulting. He was prepped for
a town hall meeting, and was placed into a
different circumstance. He was placed into a
rally, trying to be critical of Iraq. This is a
campaign season. It was a debauched joke. I
didn’t think that much about it. I did think
that it was off the cut. ”
— Assistant Professor David Uranga, 45, Political Science
“I think what he said is correct. If you study
hard, you will succeed. We go to school to get
better jobs. ”
— Angelo Downey, 18, Criminal Justice
“He recognized a fact. My friends are in the
military, and they follow the pattern of
being uncertain about their academics. So I
can see how he connected that. ”
— Hector Martinez, 22, Psychology
All-Star Democrats Unite at PCC
Raul Cabral
Staff Writer
In a desperate effort to secure
votes before next week’s gubernato¬
rial election, California state treas¬
urer Phil Angelides spoke at PCC
on Monday, surrounded by an
impressive cast of politicians that
included Sen. John Kerry (D-
Mass.), Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-
Calif.) and Los Angeles Mayor
Antonio Villaraigosa.
Preceded by Boxer, Kerry and
Villaraigosa, Angelides stepped up
to the podium amid overwhelming
cheers from the boisterous student
body and exclaimed, “Let’s make
Nov. 7 a great change in American
history!”
Among the topics discussed were
the issues of health care and educa¬
tion. “California has more unin¬
sured children than any state in the
Union,” said Villaraigosa. “Phil
Angelides knows that the key to
California is not to talk, but to
invest and take action.” Angelides
pledged to expand health care cov¬
erage, beginning with providing
health care for all of California’s
children.
Angelides, as well as both sena¬
tors and the mayor, weighed in on
education. “ In these closing days,
the children in the schools are
depending on us on this stage,”
said Angelides, “Schwarzenegger
increased community college fees
by 44 percent. On my first day in
office, I am going to lower tuition at
all of California’s community col¬
leges.” Angelides plans to spend
$600 million to make this initiative
possible. “I’m going to close corpo¬
rate tax loopholes. I’m going to ask
people who make half a million
dollars or more a year to pay, to give
back some of their tax breaks so
that we can fund our community
colleges, our state colleges and uni¬
versities,” he said.
Boxer, who graduated from a
public university, also stressed the
importance of obtaining an educa¬
tion and the government’s role in
accomplishing that. “Those were
the days when we had a govern¬
ment who understood that the key
to the success of the United States
of America is a quality education
from kindergarten to college, and
somehow, along the way, the crowd
we have in Washington lost their
way,” she said.
Kerry added that the No Child
Rafael Delgado
/
Courier
As a part of the “Angelides for Governor” campaign, several
Democrats emphasized education and health care.
