Philip Covone,
I guess we have a standoff, because I am equally saddened that you have bought the propaganda disbursed by the GOP. But that's what used to be so great about our nation - everyone was free to have their own opinion. Just be sure to vote on Tuesday.

Barbara from Tullahoma, TN,
Where have you been? For the last several years now our President has been bashed and his character assasinated by, not only the Democrats, but the liberal and bias media. Every thing that he has done, even the good things, has been rediculed and the media has misrepresented in order to further their agenda. I'm saddened to see that you have believed the lies that you've been told by the liberal and bias media.
I beg you to not listen to what you see on tv or read in the news papers. Look at what each candidate stands for, inform your self with the real truth and then make informed comments or suggestions. Please, do not be one of those that contributes to the problem. Stand up and do what you deep down know is right.

Lets be real! Open your eyes and look at all these issues correctly. The Bush Administration didn't send our "Nation" to war ALONE; both parties (the Repblicans and the Democrates) voted on the matter at hand. Therefore, a decision was made. Period!

As for Kerry, he's just an ignorant individual. No one in there right mind would even joke about our Armed Forces. They sacrifice day-in and day-out. Period! And as for myself being a decorated officer, it's quite offensive.

Furthermore, it's my understanding that the Military is voluntary. No one force young men and wowen to join, it's a individual decision.

And for completing an education...it's your own responsiblity no one elses. Period!

And as far as the elections goes, vote for those who best suit the job. Period!

"Why hasn't the missing soldier in Iraq been covered by the news?" I have to agree with the lady from Mission Viejo, CA. I don't see the media covering that important story. I see what is more important in the media to cover. Let's start with the NBC Nightly News broadcast and notice the time spent on each segment:

Segment One: John Kerry Apologizes For "Botched Joke" About Iraq (Running time: 3:35)

Segment Two: Democrats Are "Furious And Frustrated" With Kerry's Timing (Running time: 2:20)

Segment Three: Classified Pentagon Chart Suggests Chaos In Iraq (Running time: 40 seconds)

Your newscast spent 40 seconds on the chaos in Iraq but spent 3 minutes on the segement of Kerry's botched joke. I realize that your newscast can't cover every news in this country and outside the country. Is this a network of sensationalism rather than important topics in this country? Brian, NBC Nightly News needs to prioritize what is important news in this country. And if Kerry's botched joke or the political parties bashing one another over Kerry's blunder is the most important news topic in this country, then, Brian, NBC Nightly News has a long road to the word: true and honest journalism. Edward R. Murrows would be ashamed on this type of news coverage and decorum. The media today has become more of sensationalism and entertainment rather than education.

Although Kerry misspoke and implied that the poorly educated end up in the military, the Republican Party and the President have made it policy and law. One provision in the presidents “no child left behind” is that schools that are below federal standards are required to provide the US military with contact information for their students. This clearly indicates that the president believes that poorly educated students are prime candidates for the US military.

Anything to distract people from the real issues and what the candidates should be talking about. How come the Republicans don't want to talk about the economy or Iraq anymore?

John Kerry's inability to tell a joke probably should disqualify him from further appearances on Comedy Central, but I'm glad you brought up the topic of Iraq. What a freekin Republican quagmire that is.

John Kerry is a decorated war hero and I have no doubt that his comments were meant to denigrate George W. Bush, who dodged military service. Why else would Bush be abandoning American soldiers behind enemy lines? I don't think anyone who had ever served in combat would ever do that, and I think you should ask my opponent what (he/she) has to say about this.

I think the real insult here to our military is being delivered by George Bush, who simply will not admit that the Administration's policies in Iraq have failed. Stop wasting $250 million a day in Iraq and bring our soldiers home.

Kerry's pathetic attempt to make a joke about educated people shows how well his education has worked out for him. An educated man would not have left out a key word in his joke. An educated man would not have had to be told that he did way after the fact and an educated man would not have had a problem with correcting himself once he learned of his error. Kerry, what was it you wanted to say about education working for you....
Kerry is an idiot who has made pop shots at the military for some time now. He played the role in the 60's as he hoped it would work for him in his political pursuits as it did with JFK. He went to Vietnam with a shopping list of medals that he self nominated himself for. Once he realized that those medals would not help him once he got back, he jumped on the anti-war war front. He is a grotesque EU and UN sycophant. He is too arrogant and elitist to accept responsibility for his own actions or statements and said that he would appologize to no one What class at Ivy League U gave you that little educational tidbit Kerry?
As a service member, I can state that we have the same demographics in the military as the population of the States, the good, bad and the in between. I can also state that we need no nod from the likes of Kerry. EVER.

I can't understand why the Kerry story is still out there causing damage. If Bush had made the comment, it would have never seen the light of day. Everyone, please see this for what it is: There is nothing GOOD to say about this administration, so they have to put legs on a story that should have been page two at best, from a person who isn't even running this time. If you still have any doubts, look up the word "liberal" in the dictionary. I know we have been brainwashed into rolling our eyes when the label "liberal" is put on someone or something they said. I decided to see what exactly is so bad about being called a liberal - look it up - I'm proud to be one!

I'm with Sue in Gulf Shores, Alabama. I'll add to her remark about wondering if "Karl Rove isn't slipping a little cash to all the talking heads."

Reason being, it's obvious that Karl Rove, President Bush, and the rest of the administration are "wagging the dog" because they DON'T want you talking about post-Katrina news. And regarding Katrina's aftermath, they and their loyal media lackeys are operating on Goebbels' principle of the Big Lie: If you tell a lie often enough, people will believe it. There are 2 Big Lies involving Katrina at work: one by commission on the part of the Administration that $110 billion is enough to rebuild the Gulf Coast, and the Big Lie by omission on the part of the media, illustrated by the operative cliches: "Out of sight and out of mind" and "No news is good news" So by censoring post-Katrina news, they hope Americans will forget all about Katrina and everything they saw back then and believe that New Orleans and the rest of the storm zone are back to normal. And above all, by preventing Katrina from becoming a campaign issue when it should be at the top of the list, along with Iraq.

Bush and his minions don't want NBC Nightly to talk about the fact that New Orleans' schools are in a major crisis. As are more than a few of her young people. When Katrina hit, she snapped Louisiana's life in half and made even more complicated the fragmented social structure in New Orleans. Some students' families had barely been functional even before the storm. Others' parents are away due to economic necessity--having evacuated to Houston, Baton Rouge, Little Rock, etc., and needing to stay there and stay in jobs there. So now families are split up, with the children in New Orleans, some bunking with relatives not much older than they, others fending for themselves. These poor children, spirits wounded by having gone through the storm and everything they've had to endure since, are now very angry and have "attitudes."

Principal Donald Jackson of John McDonogh High School, New Orleans' largest high school that's open, estimates that out of 775 students, up to 1 fifth live without parents. The school has at least 25 security guards, a metal detector, 4 police officers,and 4 police cruisers on the sidewalk.

But despite this, in the last 6 weeks, students have assaulted guards, a teacher, and a police officer. A guard and a teacher were beaten so badly they were hospitalized.

This is against the backdrop of New Orleans' school crisis. Her schools had already been in bad shape before the storm. Now, fewer than half of her 128 schools have re-opened. Many were taken over by the state after the storm. This was hailed as a good idea at the time, but in state-run schools today, teachers and other employees, textbooks, and supplies are drastically short. McDonogh's library has no books because they had to be thrown out due to fears of mold. (Where's Laura Bush--known for donating books and money to libraries in need--when McDonogh needs her?) The school buildings are battered.

And what has President "Wag the Dog" been doing? Nothing to help New Orleans' troubled schools. But part of the $230 million he promised Lebanon is going to help rebuild her schools--so we know where Bush's true priorities lie. So the Bush Administration wants you to censor such news as New Orleans' school crisis.

Opportunism--Taking advantage of opportunities without regard for the consequences for others

"There should be less talk; a preaching point is not a meeting point. What to do then? Take broom and clean someone's house. That says enough."

"Everybody today seems to be in such a rush, anxious for greater developments and greater riches and so on, so that children have very little time for their parents, parents have very little time for each other, and in the home begins the disruption of the peace of the world."

"Don't wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person."
Mother Teresa

With all this stupid doo-rah about Kerry messing up a joke, why hasn't the missing soldier in Iraq been covered by the news? al Maliki orders the US Army to stop their roadblocks while looking for the poor kid and this isn't even mentioned on the nightly news? Who is now in charge of our military? Has Bush given up commanding the armed forces? What is going on here?

Let's tell it like it is -- people with other choices don't work at McDonald's, Walmart OR serve in the military. There are plenty of ways to be patriotic without dying in this unwinnable war while Bush and his oil and Halliburton buddies get even richer. This is "Vietnam - The Sequel", and we all know the only way to get out of that war was with a college deferment. There are bright and successful men and women serving our country but I'm sure if we looked at most of the armed forces high school assessment scores, they're some of our lowest. We graduate students that should have failed all the time. To promote NCLB is to admit that we graduate some real losers, and GWB has explicitly appealed to the most stupid Americans by linking 9-11 to Sadaam Hussein when proof has been to the contrary. GWB plans on being in Iraq for the rest of his presidency, and there aren't enough volunteers for this one anymore. I feel a draft blowing...Make up your mind, George Bush, if you have one. Start by getting rid of Rumsfeld.

Steven, Beltsville, Md.,

I agree.

The right wingers who are pushing the Kerry nonsense wouldn't be the least bit offended if one of their own said something like that. Its all abour partisan politics. The RWs know if they pretend they are outraged and repeat a story often enough, the news media will cover it. NBC sunk that low tonight. They not only played along with the RW propaganda job, the gave it the lead and far more attention than important news gets.

Did I see the propaganda pig Rash Limbaugh on your network? Rash should never been shown without a caption that says "lying propagandist." If anybody wanted to be outraged about something said about the troops, they should check out how Rash says that the troops in Iraq are safer than they would be if they were home in America. What a disgusting lie that is!

Is NBC going to do another story about Christmas being stolen, or is this Kerry nonsense going to be the final low?

Lets get over this Kerry mix-up how many times has Mr.Bush said things that didn't come out right mispronounced words etc. lets get to the real issues Iraq, economy (you are not unemployed if your benefits have run out) and national security

Does anybody remember back in 2003 when Bush gave a speech and said about the beginning of the insurgency, "Bring 'Em On"? I was chilled that he would so cavalierly deliver such a taunt. Such an irresponsible remark by Bush. Did the media make a fuss? How about when Bush in a video was looking for weapons of mass destruction under his desk, in a closet, etc at a get-together attended by the press. I was appalled that Bush was making a joke of not finding the weapons when soldiers were dying in this war fought on that premise. I don't remember a media blitz over this. Maybe NBC needs to become more "Fair and Balanced".

Diana I agree with you 100%. What about Iraq?????? 104 deaths in October. Malki sending our troops out of Sadir??????? What's the deal?????? Oh! I forgot, the press is still Bush's lapdog. They will do anything that Bush says. I am not watching TV anymore until after the election.

There are too many important issues to cover to spend any more time on the Kerry non-story. Pick one, any one, and tell America what it needs to know. This doesn't qualify

Kerry's comments were not meant to be hurtful; it is true that many young people DO go into the military because they don't want to go to college and feel the military is their only option. Can we say the same about Bush's lies, which have killed so many people? Bush and his followers need to apologize to the people of this and other countries.

You wonder about the shelf life of John Kerry's botched joke (which was obvious to any literate person)---it will stay in the news as long as you start off every newscast with it. Kerry is not a candidate for any office in this election---please focus on election issues!!!

This is comment is about politics in general.
1. Everything on television, radio, etc. is an argument for the people of this country to abolish the Electoral College, as it was set up because of the difficulty of communication between candidates and the people. We no longer have that problem, we see them on television every night. Hear them talking about how much better they would be for the job than the other candidate.
2. With the candidates we have to choose from, we are no longer choosing the best person for the job, instead, we are choosing the lesser of two evils.
We see their lack of morals - the same morals they tell us we should be ashamed when we do something they do...but we get prosecuted.
We see their perversion, the same perversion we would be arrested for...they debate on whether or not the action was actually against the law.
We see their corruption, but we're told that it's business practices, and they try to wash their hands of it and find a scape goat.
With a President who raped the country and his blood-kin by blackmailing his brother for a tallied vote in his favor in Florida to gain the Presidency...it's no wonder the country is going to hell in a handbasket.

The problem that I have with the constant discussions about the war inn Iraq is the fact that during the 2000 Presidential debates the then PResidential Candidate Bush made his intentions clear about going after Saddam Hussein. If this war was a war on terrorism as the current administration and their supporters keep telling us it was, then whay didn't they "stay the course" in Afganistan? Why did they argue so hard about going into Iraq? The American citizens should be asking questions like these instead if allowing ourselves to be distracted. What do you think the term "Vote or Die" meant? How many more of our sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, spouses and parents should be allowed to die because of the lies a few people told in order to get access to and control of OIL??? This is really what it this all about.

The Republicans would not be able to keep Kerry's untimely speech mistake alive without the help of the media. One does wonder if Karl Rove isn't slipping a little cash to all the talking heads. All of you (media) should be ashamed of yourselves. Kerry isn't even on the ballot!

Am I the only person on the planet that knew immediately that John Kerry was referring to George Bush when he made that comment. George was a C- student and bragged about it. It was the republican spinn doctors what pointed that comment at the troops to protect GW ....they are the ones that should be apologizing