Sen. John Kerry is busy right now trying to explain what he really meant on Monday when he said that youngsters who don’t apply themselves to their studies are liable to "get stuck in Iraq.”

Kerry said his barb was aimed at President Bush, but he “botched the joke.”

I refer my readers to my posting of October 23.

In that posting, I referred to comedienne Anna Russell’s impersonation of a women’s club president trying to introduce a guest pianist. I said it was a textbook example of how not to make an introduction.

After Sen. Kerry’s gaffe, I realized that I had quoted the wrong excerpt from Miss Russell’s routine. I should have quoted the opening, which goes like this:

“Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen – and others.”

[LAUGHTER]

“Oh – errr – ha-ha. Of course I know that all our members are ladies and gentlemen. What I mean to say is, some of you may have brought friends.”

The lesson here, I think, is that when you make a mistake, you shouldn’t make it worse by trying to explain it away. Sen. Kerry should apologize to our troops in Iraq and move on.