Obama and Brownback Apologize

“I’m sorry” is rapidly becoming a political slogan in many presidential campaigns. In part, some of this is the direct result of a presidency in which no mistakes are ever made, no apologies are ever issued, no one is ever responsible, and no real patriot questions orders. On the other hand, the apology has become a part of a psychological healing process in the American public sphere that proves the nation has lost its nerve. Some things deserve contempt and ridicule, and when one insults, one ought to have the decency to stand by whatever one says.

Consider for a moment the recent begging for forgiveness by the campaign of Senator Barrack Obama over a memo his campaign generated that called Hillary Clinton the senator from the Punjab as part of a criticism on her stand over outsourcing. Mr. Obama wound up telling the Des Moines Register he thought the memo was “stupid and caustic,” adding “not only didn’t [it] reflect the complicated issue of outsourcing . . . it also didn’t reflect the fact that I have long-standing support and friendships within the Indian American community.” He posted a letter of apology to the website of South Asians for Obama saying, “The memo’s caustic tone, and its focus on contributions by Indian-Americans to the Clinton campaign, was potentially hurtful, and as such, unacceptable.”

Whatever happened to “Hey, Hillary’s doing more for the workers in the Punjab than she is for the workers in Poughkeepsie?” While Senator Obama didn’t write the memo, there is such a thing as backing up one’s staff as well. Notice that the apology didn’t go the Senator Clinton, but rather to politically active people who came from (or whose ancestors came from) the Indian subcontinent. They weren’t the people insulted. The insult was to Mrs. Clinton, and it was a fair criticism. Ah, but one can’t let the money flow stop.

On the other side, Sam Brownback called to say “sorry” to Mitt Romney’s people over an e-mail sent a while back. The e-mail targeted religious voters and read in part “Theologically, the only thing Christianity and the LDS [Latter Day Saints, that is, Mormon] church has [sic] in common is the name of Jesus Christ, and the LDS Jesus is not the same Jesus of the Christian faith.” Now in a nation that is officially secular yet populated by religious folk, this just might be a debate worth having. To the extent that religious beliefs influence political action, it is important for voters to understand what Mormons believe even if they don’t accept it. Mr. Brownback, by the way, was raised a Methodist and converted to Catholicism, so maybe a good discussion about which version of the 10 Commandments he wants posted in courthouses around the nation might be amusing.

Consider just a few decades ago how Spiro Agnew spoke of Hubert Humphrey (both men achieving the vice-presidency): “Apparently Mr. Humphrey isn't comfortable playing the Lone Ranger after playing Tonto for so long.” Lyndon Johnson said of Gerald Ford, “Gerry Ford is a nice guy, but he played too much football with his helmet off.” LBJ spoke less than kindly of JFK, “The enviably attractive nephew who sings an Irish ballad for the company and then winsomely disappears before the table clearing and dishwashing begin.” All of which pales before Clement Freud’s (grandson of Sigmund) description of Margaret Thatcher, “Attila the Hen.” These day in the US, Mr. Freud would have to apologize to the Association of Mongol-American Chicken Farmers.

© Copyright 2007 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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