Lawmaker says she should have rephrased 'coward' comments

The Republican sent a note of apology to the Democratic congressman.
CINCINNATI (AP) -- U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt said Tuesday she should have rephrased her sharp comments about people who want to withdraw from Iraq that caused a furor on the House floor and drew ridicule on national TV shows.
Meanwhile, a state legislator and Marine colonel disputes the remarks the she attributed to him.
Schmidt was booed off the House floor Friday when she said that Republican state Rep. Danny Bubp told her to tell U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., that "cowards cut and run, Marines never do."
The Republican congresswoman from Ohio told conservative radio talk show host Bill Cunningham in an interview on WLW that she does not apologize for her opposition to withdrawing troops immediately.
"I wish I had used a better choice of words, but I would never have changed the message in those words," she said.
When Schmidt made the comment, House Democrats rose in protest at the suggestion that Murtha, a decorated Vietnam veteran and the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, was a coward. Murtha has called for an immediate troop pullout from Iraq that he has estimated would take at least six months.
Note of apology
Schmidt said in a statement released Tuesday that she never intended to attack Murtha personally and sent him a note of apology on Friday moments after her speech.
"While I strongly disagree with his policy, neither Representative Bubp nor I ever wished to attack Congressman Murtha," she said. "I only take exception to his policy position."
Murtha has called Schmidt's comment ridiculous.
"You can't spin this. You've got to have a real solution," Murtha said Monday when asked about the remarks at a news conference in Pennsylvania. "This is not a war of words, this is a war."
Bubp has denied discussing Murtha with Schmidt.
"Our conversation was based strictly on the proposal to immediately withdraw our troops from Iraq and the consequences of such a proposal," he said in a statement released Tuesday. "We never discussed anyone by name and there was no intent to ever disparage the congressman or his distinguished record of service for our nation."
Schmidt would not comment to Cunningham on Bubp's denial.
"I was repeating words," she said. "I am not going to get into that debate."
Neither Schmidt nor Bubp returned calls left at their offices Tuesday.
National attention
Schmidt told Cunningham that she was amazed at the national attention focused on her speech, which was parodied on TV's "Saturday Night Live."
"While I wish I didn't have this national media attention, I do not shy away from my opposition to Mr. Murtha's statement," she said. "I strongly oppose withdrawing our troops immediately."