For perspective:

Mr. Kerry said this and botched the joke:

Mr Kerry told an audience of students: "You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."

Mr. Kerry was supposed to say this:

A spokeswoman for Mr Kerry said the prepared joke was: "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."

His botched joke appeared to criticize the troops and not Mr. Bush as it was supposed to.