2004

Does the American electorate reward apologies?

Submitted by francislholland on Tue, 02/27/2007 - 10:21pm

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Candidates and supporters who believe we can win the presidency on a wave of apologies should learn the lessons of history.

Cross posted at the Francis L. Holland Blog.

John Edwards said Tuesday that honesty and openness were essential qualities for a president, and that he was proud to acknowledge his 2002 vote authorizing the invasion of Iraq was a mistake . . .

Yahoo.News

But, with John Edwards at 17% in the polls to Hillary Clinton's 43%, the public seems already to be punishing Edwards for his habit of apologizing.

In the September 30, 2004 debate between George W. Bush and John Kerry, the word "mistake" arose 13 times in the context of Iraq, offering Bush ample opportunity to admit that he had made at least one mistake. Kerry admitted to having made significant mistakes while George Bush admitted to none.