The non apology

Captain's Quarters:

John Kerry has issued an apology, a day after insisting he would never apologize for his joke about George Bush (if you can read his mind) or American troops (if you quote him accurately). Here's the statement in its entirety:

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 sincerely regret that my words were misinterpreted to wrongly imply anything negative about those in uniform, and I personally apologize to any service member, family member, or American who was offended.

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. I will continue to fight for a change of course to provide real security for our country, and a winning strategy for our troops.

Well, at least he said something, but this is hardly an expression of regret. His statement wasn't misinterpreted; even he admits that he issued a "poorly stated joke", which means Kerry failed to either write it clearly or read it properly. It's the non-apology apology that politicians have accustomed themselves to making when they've thoroughly embarrassed their colleagues -- and Democrats today made their displeasure known.

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It is hard to misinterpret something when the plain meaning is so clear. Perhaps Kerry is just being incoherent again and really meant to say that he said something he did not intend to say. Kerry has always had a problem with incoherence. He has a tendency to lash out and flail away without really tying the thoughts to a coherent subject other than his disdain for those with a different point of view.