Former US presidential candidate John Kerry said today he was sorry for a "botched joke" about Iraq, but Republicans and some Democrats demanded he apologize directly to US troops.
Mr Kerry told students in California that if they study hard they could do well, but if they don't "you get stuck in Iraq." His office said he misread his remarks and intended to say "You end up getting us stuck in a war in Iraq. Just ask President Bush."
"I said it was a botched joke. Of course, I'm sorry about a botched joke," Kerry, who refused to apologize on Tuesday, said on a radio show today, calling his comments "pretty stupid."
Mr Kerry canceled campaign appearances for Democratic candidates in three states to avoid becoming a distraction. He said his remarks to a college crowd in California were aimed at President George W. Bush and his Iraq policies, not the military.
Polls ahead of next week's congressional elections show Democrats positioned to win power in the House of Representatives for the first time since 1994 and threatening Republican control of the Senate.
With debate over the Iraq war dominating the congressional campaigns, Mr Bush and Republicans jumped on Mr Kerry's remarks as an illustration of why Democrats could not be trusted with national security.
Mr Bush, campaigning in Georgia, said Mr Kerry's statement was "insulting and it is shameful."
"The members of the United States military are plenty smart and they are plenty brave and the senator from Massachusetts owes them an apology," Mr Bush said.
White House spokesman Tony Snow said Kerry's radio comments were not a sufficient apology. "He's insistent on pointing fingers at the president or whatever rather than simply saying ... I'm sorry," he said.
"He is a liberal, a leftist, and this is the typical attitude they have toward our military," House Republican Leader John Boehner said on Fox News. "It goes to show you what liberal Democrats would do if they were to take control of the House and Senate."
Democrats must pick up 15 House seats and six Senate seats to gain control of both chambers in next Tuesday's election.
Several Democrats distanced themselves from Mr Kerry, who canceled campaign appearances in Iowa, Minnesota and Pennsylvania.
Democratic Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York said the comments were "inappropriate."
"Senator Kerry's remarks were poorly worded and just plain stupid. He owes our troops and their families an apology," said Democrat Jon Tester, in a tight Senate race in Montana.
The flap was likely to hurt any potential 2008 presidential run by Mr Kerry, a decorated Vietnam veteran who lost the 2004 presidential race to Mr Bush after his military record was questioned in a series of ads by fellow veterans of Navy "swift boats."
Reuters/AP