From someone that does not have much vested in the American politics, military and current operations, I have to admit my first thought when I heard what he said was 'damn funny and stupid, he just slammed the troops'.

When I thought about it further - it occurred to me that this may have been a bit of a Freudian slip - as everyone knows that the frenzy of military recruiting is going on in poor areas with less then stellar education levels and local unemployment.

I also don't hear of too many politicians sons and daughters volunteering (both Democrat and Republican - but I would have to say to the republicans - put your sons where your mouth is!)

I have no doubt having heard the explanations and the context of the speech that this was meant as a joke against Bush. It backfired badly. I find it funny that some of the troops are too stupid to see that the meaning was not entirely conveyed by Kerry's words. Sometimes words are said to deceive, sometimes they are misused, and very rarely can words be trusted by themselves.