Here we have the double standard in American politics writ large. Sen. John Kerry is misinterpreted when he says that Pres. Bush’s stupidity got us stuck in Iraq and it leads the news.

Conversely, Republican House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Tobacco) means what he says when he blames the quagmire in Iraq on military leaders, rather than President Bush or his secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld, and his comments barely make a blip:

In an interview Wednesday on CNN, Boehner said, “Let’s not blame what’s happening in Iraq on Rumsfeld.”

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer replied, “But he’s in charge of the military.”

“The fact is, the generals on the ground are in charge, and he works closely with them and the president,” Boehner, an Ohio Republican, said.