Truespeak

George W. Bush has apologized.....sort of.

After a four year inability to identify any mistakes, he kind of almost maybe came close to admitting to a couple.....sort of.

"Sometimes, words have consequences you don't intend them to mean," Bush said Thursday.

"'Bring 'em on' is the classic example, when I was really trying to rally the troops and make it clear to them that I fully understood, you know, what a great job they were doing. And those words had an unintended consequence. It kind of, some interpreted it to be defiance in the face of danger. That certainly wasn't the case."

He went on to say:

[Referring to "I want justice. And there's an old poster out West, that I recall, that said, 'Wanted, Dead or Alive."']

"I can remember getting back to the White House, and Laura said, 'Why did you do that for?' I said, 'Well, it was just an expression that came out. I didn't rehearse it.'

"I don't know if you'd call it a regret, but it certainly is a lesson that a president must be mindful of, that the words that you sometimes say. ... I speak plainly sometimes, but you've got to be mindful of the consequences of the words. So put that down. I don't know if you'd call that a confession, a regret, something."

Notice the word sorry never crossed his lips. Notice too the lack of any reference to a mistake. This guy admits to nothing. I'm reminded of the time during the 2000 campaign when, unaware that the microphone was open, he remarked to Dick Cheney, "There's Adam Clymer, major-league asshole from The New York Times." Did he apologize? Absolutely not! Did he say it was a mistake? Get real! In fact, his response was, "I regret that a private comment I made to the vice-presidential candidate made it into the public airwaves." That's nice. It's like saying, "I regret that I killed your entire family, I was only aiming for you." What is wrong with this guy? Why can't he admit that he's done a few things wrong?

This all makes me think about that episode of Happy Days where Fonzie has to say he's sorry. He keeps saying "I'm really so-o-o-r-r.... I'm really s-s-s-s-o-o-rr........." You see, he's too cool to admit any faults and is therefore unable to say the word. Well George, you aren't Fonzie (even though I'm pretty sure you like to think that you are). You can say the word.

If George W. Bush is unable to admit his mistakes, he is unable to learn from them. As George Bernard Shaw once said, "A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing." Until we have a president that is willing to learn from his mistakes, I fear for our nation.