It just seems that if it was a "botched joke" he would have conceded that immediately and not waited over 24 hrs to release a "public apology," which didnt seem very sincere to me. This can be placed among that long list of priceless Kerry quotes such as, "I actually did vote for the 87 billion dollars before I voted against it."
Now all of Kerry's public appearances are being cancelled because other democrats don't want to be linked to him. (shows just how loyal the democratic party can be, similar to how they treated Lieberman during the primaries)

By the way, it's not just me and Karl Rove who are enjoying Kerry's misery. Below is a photo of US troops, in Iraq, lampooning Kerry's assertions.