Apologies
By Corey Lyons
Contra Costa Newspapers
Dec. 18, 2002
It's a couple of simple words that cause politicians in peril to squirm like, well, politicians in peril: I'm sorry.
In recent days, the outcry over maligned Sen. Trent Lott's racially insensitive comments and Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates' "papergate" theft case illustrate the growing public demand for acceptable apologies.
Yet politicians often wrestle over the right words -- or any words at all -- to express remorse for their damaging blunders.
From Clinton to Condit, once promising careers can sputter and stall unless a personal blooper is appropriately patched.
"There is an art to what you say -- and there's often a clever parting of language or twisting of words. Politicians seldom say, 'I'm sorry,'" said Bill Whalen, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.
Political analysts and public policy experts say lawmakers in limbo may want to start rethinking their strategies.
Their advice? Move quickly to identify the mistake, 'fess up and clear the air as soon as possible. Then, cross your fingers.
Faced with an Oval Office sex scandal, former President Clinton agonized over the issue a few years ago. He finally asked to be censured by Congress for his "errors of word and deed."
Experts say the "granddaddy" of effective political contrition occurred Sept. 23, 1952, an incident regarded as the "Checkers speech."
In it, Richard Nixon, then an upstart California senator, delivered a brilliant televised speech that secured his place on the Republican ticket as Dwight Eisenhower's running mate.
In quelling questions about $18,000 in gifts, he went so far as to itemize everything he had received, including a "little cocker spaniel" dog named Checkers, whom his family was "gonna keep."
"Nixon's speech worked because the public was not so jaded in seeing politicians apologize in that manner," said Susan Rasky, who teaches political government reporting at UC Berkeley.
"By the time we got to Lott, after all this prehistory of Clinton and Monica, we've seen it all before."
Indeed, the public appears to be increasingly frustrated by those who fail to grasp the gravity of their missteps.
Former Rep. Gary Condit's once powerful grip on central California loosened during the investigation into the disappearance of Chandra Levy, a federal intern with whom he had an affair at the time she vanished.
His one-time protege, Dennis Cardoza, captured the congressional seat last month. Condit lost in the primary.
"It all depends on when you do it and how you do it -- and Gary Condit never apologized," said Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a political science scholar at the University of Southern California.
But while coming clean may sound like great advice, the severity of a mistake and the level of sincerity can take a wrecking ball to any finely-tuned apology.
Lott, a Republican from Mississippi, delivered his fifth apology Monday. He initially said he was being "lighthearted" when he commented that the country would have been better off if it had stuck with segregationist policies.
So far, the escalating issue has further wobbled the Senate majority leader's political footing.
"I don't think that, in Lott's situation, or if someone is caught embezzling or making a bribe, an apology works," said Ted Radke, who teaches political science at Contra Costa College.
Whalen, of the Hoover Institution, agreed.
"One of the problems with Lott is that it became far too protracted," he said. "He should have come right out of the chute after he did it. Instead, he let it boil all week long."
Bates, the new Berkeley mayor, agreed Thursday to accept theft charges for swiping 1,000 copies of the Daily Californian newspaper that endorsed his opponent, Shirley Dean.
In his first meeting, he apologized to "the Daily Cal, my supporters, my family and, most of all, to the people of Berkeley."
Nonetheless, some are still calling on the liberal Democrat to resign over his baffling lapse in judgment.
"He apologized right away. But there's a point at which even if you apologize, the offense may be considered so stupid or cast such doubt that people want to recall you," said Rasky, the lecturer at UC Berkeley.
Clinton, the first elected president to be impeached, somehow managed to beat the odds.
"He's gone on like nothing happened," said retired Assemblyman Lou Papan, who sponsored a state law that allows people involved in auto accidents to apologize without the words being used as confessions of guilt in civil cases.
"There's an immunity there that distresses me with some individuals."
Contra Costa Newspapers
Dec. 18, 2002
It's a couple of simple words that cause politicians in peril to squirm like, well, politicians in peril: I'm sorry.
In recent days, the outcry over maligned Sen. Trent Lott's racially insensitive comments and Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates' "papergate" theft case illustrate the growing public demand for acceptable apologies.
Yet politicians often wrestle over the right words -- or any words at all -- to express remorse for their damaging blunders.
From Clinton to Condit, once promising careers can sputter and stall unless a personal blooper is appropriately patched.
"There is an art to what you say -- and there's often a clever parting of language or twisting of words. Politicians seldom say, 'I'm sorry,'" said Bill Whalen, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.
Political analysts and public policy experts say lawmakers in limbo may want to start rethinking their strategies.
Their advice? Move quickly to identify the mistake, 'fess up and clear the air as soon as possible. Then, cross your fingers.
Faced with an Oval Office sex scandal, former President Clinton agonized over the issue a few years ago. He finally asked to be censured by Congress for his "errors of word and deed."
Experts say the "granddaddy" of effective political contrition occurred Sept. 23, 1952, an incident regarded as the "Checkers speech."
In it, Richard Nixon, then an upstart California senator, delivered a brilliant televised speech that secured his place on the Republican ticket as Dwight Eisenhower's running mate.
In quelling questions about $18,000 in gifts, he went so far as to itemize everything he had received, including a "little cocker spaniel" dog named Checkers, whom his family was "gonna keep."
"Nixon's speech worked because the public was not so jaded in seeing politicians apologize in that manner," said Susan Rasky, who teaches political government reporting at UC Berkeley.
"By the time we got to Lott, after all this prehistory of Clinton and Monica, we've seen it all before."
Indeed, the public appears to be increasingly frustrated by those who fail to grasp the gravity of their missteps.
Former Rep. Gary Condit's once powerful grip on central California loosened during the investigation into the disappearance of Chandra Levy, a federal intern with whom he had an affair at the time she vanished.
His one-time protege, Dennis Cardoza, captured the congressional seat last month. Condit lost in the primary.
"It all depends on when you do it and how you do it -- and Gary Condit never apologized," said Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a political science scholar at the University of Southern California.
But while coming clean may sound like great advice, the severity of a mistake and the level of sincerity can take a wrecking ball to any finely-tuned apology.
Lott, a Republican from Mississippi, delivered his fifth apology Monday. He initially said he was being "lighthearted" when he commented that the country would have been better off if it had stuck with segregationist policies.
So far, the escalating issue has further wobbled the Senate majority leader's political footing.
"I don't think that, in Lott's situation, or if someone is caught embezzling or making a bribe, an apology works," said Ted Radke, who teaches political science at Contra Costa College.
Whalen, of the Hoover Institution, agreed.
"One of the problems with Lott is that it became far too protracted," he said. "He should have come right out of the chute after he did it. Instead, he let it boil all week long."
Bates, the new Berkeley mayor, agreed Thursday to accept theft charges for swiping 1,000 copies of the Daily Californian newspaper that endorsed his opponent, Shirley Dean.
In his first meeting, he apologized to "the Daily Cal, my supporters, my family and, most of all, to the people of Berkeley."
Nonetheless, some are still calling on the liberal Democrat to resign over his baffling lapse in judgment.
"He apologized right away. But there's a point at which even if you apologize, the offense may be considered so stupid or cast such doubt that people want to recall you," said Rasky, the lecturer at UC Berkeley.
Clinton, the first elected president to be impeached, somehow managed to beat the odds.
"He's gone on like nothing happened," said retired Assemblyman Lou Papan, who sponsored a state law that allows people involved in auto accidents to apologize without the words being used as confessions of guilt in civil cases.
"There's an immunity there that distresses me with some individuals."
posted by Corey at 5:54 PM
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