Modified On November 2, 2006
Former presidential candidate John Kerry got into a little hot water while addressing a group of students when he told them that students who don’t study hard and do their homework would likely “get stuck in Iraq.”
After letting the controversy swell and throb for 24 hours or so, he finally explained why he made the crack, saying it was a “botched joke.”
Speaking as people who have botched many jokes, we say: We know botched jokes; and that was no botched joke. We are professional joke botchers, so we know a statement that starts out as a joke and turns horribly wrong when we see one. After listening to the recordings, we are prepared to say that the “botched joke” defense doesn’t wash.
In the past, we’ve advised against politicians trying levity, when we autopsied Joe Biden’s clumsy attempt at ball-busting. That was obviously a feeble stab at making a joke. Biden was mimicking any one of a number of comedians he may have seen and he tried (after the fact) to sell the gag with a bit of mugging. In the Kerry incident, there was not even a thin framework for a joke.
If Kerry had even the slightest reputation as a jokester, the botched joke defense might have worked. As it is, it was too little too late. Attention to all politicians: Humor can rocket you into office or it can cut you off at the knees. Use with caution!