The furore is out of control.  This election is now about John Kerry...

And John is still talking.  Here he is quoted by the Boston Globe:

..."Let me make it crystal clear, as crystal clear as I know how: I apologize to no one for my criticism of the president and of his broken policy.  If anyone owes our troops in the field an apology, it is the president and his failed team."...

John, you screwed up your joke and you should have apologized.  Regardless of who you meant to attack, it wasn't clear, and therefore the safe bet would have been to say.  "I was not referring to the troops, and if anyone thought I was, I apologize for not being clear."  Instead of saying "If anyone thinks that a veteran would somehow criticize more than 140,000 troops serving in Iraq and not the President and his people who put them there, they're crazy."

There's a smart play.  Be unclear and then call people who might misunderstand your comments crazy.

Unfortunately, now that you've opened your mouth again, you can't apologize, because you said you would not do so, even though the calls for your apology are going to get louder and louder in the coming days.  Which is going to make you look like an arrogant elitist, unless of course, in alarm over the growing furore, you end up apologizing, in which case you will look like a flip-flopping panderer.

Smooth.  Any other gifts you'd like to hand the Republicans before the election?