At a student rally in California, Senator John Kerry commented, "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." Almost immediately, President Bush responded, "The senator's suggestion that the men and women of our military are somehow uneducated is insulting and shameful. The men and women who serve in our all-volunteer armed forces are plenty smart and are serving because they are patriots -- and Senator Kerry owes them an apology."

Other members of the GOP, including Senator McCain, have also jumped on the bandwagon calling for Kerry's apology. In his defense, Kerry claims his remarks were a joke against Bush and its context was "botched" In past decades, military service was not looked upon as a favorable profession. Perhaps contemporary society still views the military in such a light, despite the "support the troops" mantra. After all, recruiters had a hard time convincing America's youth (especially the elite) to enlist - forcing the Army to offer huge signing bonuses and accept increasing numbers of high school dropouts and category four recruits in order to meet annual goals.