Comments on: Rockefeller Apologizes to McCain http://donklephant.com/2008/04/09/rockefeller-apologizes-to-mccain/ Big Teeth. Huge Ass. Surprisingly Reasonable. Tue, 02 Dec 2008 03:09:07 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.5 By: Alan Stewart Carl http://donklephant.com/2008/04/09/rockefeller-apologizes-to-mccain/#comment-395837 Alan Stewart Carl Wed, 09 Apr 2008 21:29:18 +0000 http://donklephant.com/?p=5174#comment-395837 He didn't call his own words stupid but he said they were wrong. I don't expect people to call themselves idiots, that's expecting too much. I do expect people to own up when they've taken their criticisms too far. I thought his apology was fine. I don't think we should expcet unreasonable standards, otherwise no one will follow them. As long as someone admits they were wrong, I'm cool. He didn’t call his own words stupid but he said they were wrong. I don’t expect people to call themselves idiots, that’s expecting too much. I do expect people to own up when they’ve taken their criticisms too far. I thought his apology was fine.

I don’t think we should expcet unreasonable standards, otherwise no one will follow them. As long as someone admits they were wrong, I’m cool.

]]> By: gerryf http://donklephant.com/2008/04/09/rockefeller-apologizes-to-mccain/#comment-395819 gerryf Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:03:35 +0000 http://donklephant.com/?p=5174#comment-395819 Are you kidding me? You call that an apology--I cannot tell if you were using sarcasm or not...I thought it might be at first, but am unclear. He didn't apologize for an insulting remark, he called it an "inaccurate analogy" and a "poor choice of words"--so somewhere in his original statement he still thinks there is a grain of truth to what he said. An apology implies actual remorse at an action. There is no apology when you say "it was a poor choice or words." It's a half step above being misquoted. This is what passes for an apology and you call it civil? C'mon. Here's an apology: ""I am sorry for the stupid thing I said. I said that John McCain does not care about the lives of people and he never gets into those issues. I was wrong to say that. He does care. He examines these issues. I was wrong to have said anything other than that. I am sorry."" The reason we lack civility in the public discourse is exactly because people accept this kind of insincere vague language as an apology. You want real civility? Demand more. Are you kidding me? You call that an apology–I cannot tell if you were using sarcasm or not…I thought it might be at first, but am unclear.

He didn’t apologize for an insulting remark, he called it an “inaccurate analogy” and a “poor choice of words”–so somewhere in his original statement he still thinks there is a grain of truth to what he said.

An apology implies actual remorse at an action. There is no apology when you say “it was a poor choice or words.” It’s a half step above being misquoted.

This is what passes for an apology and you call it civil? C’mon.

Here’s an apology:

“”I am sorry for the stupid thing I said. I said that John McCain does not care about the lives of people and he never gets into those issues. I was wrong to say that. He does care. He examines these issues. I was wrong to have said anything other than that. I am sorry.”"

The reason we lack civility in the public discourse is exactly because people accept this kind of insincere vague language as an apology.

You want real civility? Demand more.

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