Is Kerry a Liar or an Ignoramus?

John Kerry told America that 53 percent of its children do not graduate from high school.

Was that an intentionally misleading statement, a lie?

Was it bred from Kerry's ignorance?

Did he simply misspeak?

Drudge has a transcript excerpt from John Kerry's appearance with Katie Couric on Today this morning.

Drudge also cites recent figures from the U. S. Census Bureau that refute Kerry's statement.

Drudge writes:

Kerry made the comments after host Katie Couric asked the former presidential candidate about the Bush's State of the Union call to train 70,000 additional teachers in math and science.

COURIC: He wanted to train 70,000 additional teachers in math and science.

KERRY: That's terrific. But 53 percent of our children don't graduate from high school. Kids don't have after-school programs... He didn't ask America to sacrifice anything to achieve great goals and the biggest example is making the tax cut permanent for the wealthiest people in America. The average American struggles to find time to take carry of families, working two or three jobs... It's a disgrace. He did not tell the real state of the union.

Kerry's 53% claim conflicts with a recent press release from the U.S. Census Bureau: "High School Graduation Rates Reach All-Time High"

And the Census Bureau's own website states: 85.9 Percent Of Americans Aged 20-24 Are High School Graduates. (U.S. Census Bureau Website, www.census.gov , Accessed 2/1/06)

I know the Dems are desperate to rip apart President Bush's State of the Union address, but facts are facts.

Kerry is wrong.

He needs to retract that statement. It's false.

If he mistakenly said that 53 percent of American children do not graduate from high school, and he really meant to say that 14.1 percent do not get a diploma, then Kerry should immediately issue a clarification.

If he meant to highlight the high drop out rates among minority children, then he still needs to clarify what he said this morning.

Anyone can make a mistake. However, making such remarks with an intent to deceive dramatically reduces Kerry's credibility among reasonable Americans.

That raises the question: Can Kerry's supporters be considered reasonable?