I have a real problem with how media and political types apologize. If I ever attempted to apologize for something stupid I did the way John Kerry just did, or the way Mark Foley did (right after the apology release the info that he believed he had been molested as a child and was an alcoholic), or countless others - the apology wouldn't be accepted, and if I was apologizing to a woman I'd promptly get slapped.I was just over at National Review Online's The Corner blog, and a reader sent in the following to Jonah Goldberg. We could all learn from it:
Real apologies
- Never contain the phrases "my words were misinterpreted" (to make it or "any [one] who was offended." These are weasel words. Nothing is an apology which attempts offload blame or place blame anywhere but on the person making the apology. Such "apologies" should never be accepted.
- Never transition to an attempt to balance the scales by showing any other party is wrong in any way. Such "apologies" should never be accepted. Indeed, they should be condemned not just as unmitigating excuses, but as abuses in their own right.
Reader Comments ( Page 5 of 8)
61. Wow! Thanks a lot John Kerry! What a great morale booster your statement is to our troops!
Now, if you can remove the foot you have stuffed in your mouth and down your throat, use it to walk out of politics please!
Susan at 11:31PM on Nov 1st 2006
62. It is amazing how the opposition can create a smokescreen to deter from the real issues in this election. John Kerry explained that his inappropriate remarks were an error. How many foolish, ungrammatical, out of context comments has our President made?
I am a registered Republican but am totally disenchanted with my party and their insistence on hammering issues like "inappropriate comments" rather than pulling us out of a war that only benefits corporate America. Ah, for the days of the Teddy Roosevelt Republicans.
Jerre Morganti at 11:43PM on Nov 1st 2006
63. It's too late for John Kerry to apologize to all the Viet Nam Troops that he turned his back on with the foul things he said and the lies he told. It's too late for an apology from him for the things he said 2 years ago against this beautiful Country! Now what came from his mouth the other day, he said it, it's too late again. Mr. Kerry the only way to apologize now is to do what you should have done a long time ago, STEP DOWN FROM OFFICE and join the terrorist group so our troops can have the last word or end your last deed!
Gary at 11:52PM on Nov 1st 2006
64. Kerry is a idiot. As a military brat, spouse, sibling, Aunt, and friend I can tell you that military personnel are not uneducated. I used to administer the military advancement tests, I cannot begin to tell you how many people join to further or get a higher education. My niece is in Iraq right now, she is working on her masters degree. So do not insult the people who are fighting to protect your rights. As for Kerry he can to to Hell. And personally it does not matter whether you are a democrat or republican you have no right to diss the UNITED
Laura DeMambro at 11:48PM on Nov 1st 2006
65. Why would John Kerry who is supporting every person who is an Iraq War veteran running for office want to insult the military? Why are the Republicans trying to distract the voters from the issue of the Iraq War? This is a smoke screen America, WAKE UP!
hope winthrop[ at 11:47PM on Nov 1st 2006
66. HAY, AMERICA WISE UP!
I ASK YOU HOW MANY MORE SOLDIERS HAVE TO DIE IN IRAQ FOR THE BUSH AGENDA.
HOW MANY OF THE DEAD SOLDIERS WHERE OF RICH FAMILIES OR POLITICIAN SONS OR DAUGHTERS?
BILLIONS OF DOLLARS ARE BEING SPENT ON THIS WAR THAT COULD BE SPENT ON OUR KIDS EDUCATION AND TO
HELP THE ELDERLY WHO CAN NOT AFFORD THEIR MEDICINES. RIGHT ON JOHN KERRY FOR STANDING UP FOR WHAT IS RIGHT.
MARY at 4:26AM on Nov 2nd 2006
67. It's always "alright" in a Democrats mind to say or do anything...as long as you are a Democrat and you apologize for whatever it is you did after you did it.
Renee got it right, Kerry wanted to be a polititian and to be one you needed credentials...at Kerry's time in Vietnam most sailors were on ships guarding the harbor.......the "swift boats" were used as search vessels...Kerry would never have taken that job if he knew in advance those little boats were going up river to actually fight a war.
Kerry's National Political career is all but over...Sometime in the next few years I half expect to hear how he blew his brains out in a "state of depression," not the State of Massssachusetttts.
Jeff at 3:07AM on Nov 2nd 2006
68. I can't believe some of the comments on this subject...actually supporting Kerry's view that our military is full of un-educated slum dwellers. I joined the Army and knew I most likely would go to Vietnam, it was an obligation for me to serve. I have been tested twice and have and IQ of 163-168, I don't think I'm stupid.
I am amazed by the ability of these so called "slow" learners...I look at the type of technology they have mastered and wonder if I would have been able to keep up with them. It also amazes me that they have fought in that country this long and have lost fewer than 3000 service members. That in itself is a testament to their intelligence.
Jeff at 3:30AM on Nov 2nd 2006
69. I am sick and tired of people who didn't serve making their own assumptions about the make-up and motivation of those who serve in our uniformed services. It's a choice I made for myself and one I've encouraged other family members to make because of what most people (not necessarily Mr. Kerry) take away from it in terms of personal pride and self-development. I was raised to believe that as a citizen, it was my duty to serve my time and I did. No apologies, no regrets. My oath was to preserve and protect the Constitution, and most soldiers I know personally took great pride the uniform and what that service meant. Yes, the benefits were used by most of us that qualified for them, but they weren't the motivation. People who callously assume that those from a poor background aren't capable of anything other than economic motivation are the worst sort of bigots. Santimonious bigots who claim that they are doing it for the poor person's benefit. Please, don't try to help me or any of my friends until you get to know us. Assuming you are willing to leave your liberal lifestyle long enough to encounter us.
Brian at 4:36AM on Nov 2nd 2006
70. When a reporter asked Bush what he most regretted saying, he said " I regret using the statement dead or alive "
That statement really did hurt the troops and America was silent, but you take a stupid irrelevent foot in Kerry's mouth and it's 3 day news. We missed the real story of the day, the check points in Iraq. Way to go dumb Asses.
vicki sorensen at 6:11AM on Nov 2nd 2006
71. Maybe we should leave our troops floundering in Iraq for another 50 years just because John Kerry didn't apologize well enough. These are decent, intelligent men and women who were wrongfully sent to their deaths by their Misuser in Chief.
Don't punish the troops because Kerry is clumsy and out of touch with the rest of his party. Bring them home! Vote Democrat.
Jason at 6:16AM on Nov 2nd 2006
72. WE ARE FORGETTING THE MAIN POINT MOST OF THIS HOOPLA ABOUT WHAT WAS SAID TWO YEARS AGO IS A PLOY BY THE REPUBLICAN PARTY TO TAKE OUR MIND OFF OF THEM NOT DOING THEIR JOBS. THE ECONOMY IS A MESS, IRAQ ON VERGE OF CIVIL WAR, PROBLEMS HERE AT HOME NOT BEING ADDRESSED, GAS PRICES CREEPING UP AGAIN, ETC. WOW MUST BE TERRIBLE TO BE TOLD YOU WILL BE OUT OF A JOB ON NOV 7TH. HOW WILL THEY EVER LIVE ON A UNEMPLOYMENT CHECK OF $160k!!
iNA at 6:21AM on Nov 2nd 2006
73. Every GI in America ought to file a lawsuit against this ashole. Is that why he ended up in Vietnam. John Kerry. From Ex GI to another you are a piece of shit and you shouldn't be allowed to run for office ever again. You are POMPUS
dennis at 4:21AM on Nov 3rd 2006
74. I am a native of Massachusetts. John Kerry & Ted Kennedy are a disgrace to the State! John Kerry's wife must have had too many pickles in her first marriage - it must have soured her on men, I would hate to be stuck with an ugly coward for a mate. Let's get together and buy plane tickets for Kerry, Kennedy & Hillary to beautiful downtown Iraq. Let's see what they're really made of!!!
Edna Walsh at 2:29PM on Nov 2nd 2006
75. Ms. Lowder,
Take it from a guy who came from a rich family, had a 2-S student deferment, and a draft number over 300, and volunteered for service with the Air Force in 1969 (The Vietnam Era): you're wrong. Military volunteers come from all walks of life, in peacetime and in wartime. But you don't have to take it from me... just listen to the countless people who have called in to radio and television talk shows and told how they volunteered, even though their status in life afforded them other options. Have you served in the military? With what authority, other than the rhetoric of others you favor politically, can you make the claim you make? You've made the same groundless presumptions that have now -- hopefully -- led to the end of Senator Kerry's career. The only difference between you and him, it would seem, is that he will now have to live with the political consequences of those hazardously vacuous presumptions. Now he knows how those who have had to depend on, and subsequently suffered from, his ill-supported judgments feel. Would that you could do the same... at no one else's expense, that is.
Phil at 8:35AM on Nov 2nd 2006