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WASHINGTON - US senator John Kerry's "botched joke" about the Iraq war riled fellow Democrats and temporarily energised Republicans, but is unlikely to have much impact in Tuesday's congressional elections, according to political analysts.
Polls on Thursday continued to show Democrats headed toward winning control of the House
of Representatives and possibly the Senate from President George W. Bush's Republicans.
The biggest casualty of Kerry's remarks may be the Massachusetts Democrat's own chances of making a second run for the White House in 2008, the analysts said.
"It will remind us of why he's not president and why he's never going to be," said Stephen Hess, a congressional scholar at the Brookings Institution.
Kerry's remarks on Monday drew fire from Bush and other Republicans who accused him of insulting American troops with his remark to California students that they could get "stuck in Iraq" if they did not study hard enough.
His office said he misread his text and had intended to say, "You end up getting us stuck in a war in Iraq. Just ask President Bush."
Kerry, who unsuccessfully challenged Bush in the 2004 White House election, said his comments were "a botched joke".
Under bipartisan pressure, he apologised yesterday.
While a Republican backlash against Kerry could help determine the outcome of a few razor-close congressional races, it's highly unlikely to change enough votes to determine the battle for control of Congress, analysts said.
"The impact will be very, very minimal," said Stuart Rothenberg of the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report. "This election is not about John Kerry. It is about George Bush and the war in Iraq."
Rothenberg said he doubted the flap would cost Democrats a seat in the Senate, though it could have an effect on a few tight House races.
"But I don't see it as a significant factor given the weight of Democratic message and overall public sentiment," he added.
Democrats need to gain six seats for a Senate majority, and they lead in six of the seven most vulnerable Republican-held states, according to Reuters/Zogby polls released on Thursday.
James Thurber of Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University said Democrats should prevent Kerry from stepping back into this year's political spotlight.
"They should lock him in his Georgetown home (in Washington) for the rest of the campaign," Thurber said.
Many Democrats fumed about Kerry's remarks, complaining they had become a distraction. Republicans denounced Kerry, but also saw his comments as fresh political ammunition.
"The insulting remarks John Kerry made about our troops does not come as a surprise to those of us who watch Democrats neglect national security issues every day in the Congress," said Kevin Madden, a spokesman for House Majority Leader John Boehner of Ohio.
Sen. Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat, said, "I don't think there is any impact now because he has apologised, and I think people are again focusing on botched policies instead of a botched joke."
- REUTERS