Even the French know Kerry didn't apologize

AFP has the story:
After slip-up on US Iraq troops, Kerry retreats from campaign trail.

Notice that the French can manage to get it right that Kerry's "apology" on Imus was nothing of the sort (though "slip-up" sure gives him benefit of the doubt that he probably doesn't deserve), but the AP is reporting the "botched joke" spin as an apology in this story: Kerry apologizes for "botched" Iraq joke.

The problem? Not only is it not an apology, but take a look at what his staff claims the joke was supposed to be:

Do you know where you end up if you don't study, if you aren't smart, if you're intellectually lazy? You end up getting us stuck in a war in Iraq. Just ask President Bush.

Are we really supposed to believe that a Harvard MBA is not smart, doesn't study and is intellectually lazy? Are we supposed to believe Kerry thought he could make that charge stick? Are we really supposed to believe it's a great idea to make these sorts of "jokes" in wartime, when the enemy is watching our resolve? More bovine effluents from the Magic Hat Man.

Here's another thing Kerry told Imus, which the AFP reported and the AP didn't:

If anyone thinks that a veteran, someone like me, who's been fighting my entire career to provide for veterans, to fight for their benefits, to help honor what their service is ... would somehow criticize more than 140,000 troops serving in Iraq and not the president and his people who put them there, they're crazy.

So, we're supposed to believe that a guy who...

...falsely accused his comrades of daily, systematic atrocities

...secretly met with the enemy while in uniform

...sent the troops into Iraq and then tried to deny them funding

...accused them of terrorizing the population

...couldn't possibly say something bad about them. Yeah, right. Go back to your hole, traitor.