I Once Accidentally Used the Phrase "Hand Job" During a Meeting: A Very Special Quick Moment with Carol

I was in a meeting with my boss and her boss explaining the cost breakdown of printing a brochure. I was trying to explain the work associated with manually scoring and folding the pieces, and instead of saying, "manual work," or "done by hand," I accidentally said, "Well, it's a hand job..."

Now, while that was really, really embarrassing, I didn't lose my job, I wasn't sent home and I wasn't even asked to apologize. Oh, and my party didn't lose the midterm elections because of it either.

I don't know if this is spin after the fact, but it has been widely reported that the line John Kerry meant to read in his speech was as follows:

"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."

He left out the word "us."

Have you ever told a joke and got so excited about the punchline you screwed it up? Yes. Have you ever condemned thousands of men, women and children to their deaths in service of a war that you knowingly justified on false claims? No. We've all committed verbal gaffes, but few of us are guilty of myriad crimes against humanity.

Of course, you may not share my opinions on President Bush's methods of leadership, his intelligence or his ideology, and that's fine (well, it's not fine, but I accept disparate opinions as necessary and unavoidable). Nevertheless, as an electorate, let's do keep our eyes on the ball, people. Red herrings are tasty, but they aren't criteria for making informed and honest choices.

xoxo,
Carol
(Committed to Fighting the War on Rhetorical Terror)