Rookie Representative Jean Schmidt is trying to distance herself from her pathetic remarks last week:

Several Republicans who were on the House floor said afterward that Ms. Schmidt did not appear to know she was referring to a much-decorated veteran.

“The poor lady didn’t know Jack Murtha was a Marine - she really just ran into a hornet’s nest,” said Representative Jack Kingston of Georgia.

Representative David Dreier of California said, “Very clearly, she did not know that Jack Murtha was a Marine.”

New York Times.

I think Josh Marshall says it best:

But since Washington had been plastered with a day or so’s worth of wall-to-wall coverage which mainly boiled down to “Murtha, Marine, Wants out of Iraq” she’s obviously a pretty big fibber or a pretty big fool.

Actually, scratch that — probably both since she was probably fibbing but still also a fool for coming up with such a moronic excuse.

Late update: Enquirer has good coverage of this event as well.