Just about every politician these days is apologizing for something. Why? A number of factors: first off, most politicians are still getting used to the new YouTube, citizen journalist environment they are in, one in which their every move can be recorded and broadcast to millions of voters instantly. Most have NOT figured out how to use this to their advantage and keep getting caught in gaffes. And then apologizing.
Second, turns out today's politician is doing very little of the the people's work...meaning they are not legislating, nor voting on important issues, nor pushing agendas, and, well, everyone can now see that. And they need to apologize for NOT doing the job they were hired to do.
We think it's pretty funny that the "morals", and"family values" guys are particularly vulnerable in the public eye AND are often the worst offenders. What happened to taking the high ground? They should be getting caught at doing "good" rather than doing "bad" - and then being sorry.
Voters are weary of the apologies because they see that they're not sincere. At Post An Apology we call them DRIVE BY apologies, because it feels (and mostly is) an afterthought by the politician.
Here's the NYT on the subject:
Politicians have been apologizing for as long as they have been getting in trouble, of course. But the recent wave has been remarkable in its frequency and sweep. A Washington Republican Senate candidate, Mike McGavick, stunned many last month when he apologized on his campaign blog for “the very worst and most embarrassing things in my life,” and then catalogued a roster that included a previously undisclosed drunken-driving citation from 13 years ago and a questionable campaign advertisement he allowed 18 years ago.
“None of these apologies are effective because no one believes them anymore,” said Chuck Todd, editor of the daily political tip-sheet, Hotline.
The notion of political apologies has become cheapened by the caveats that often accompany, and dilute, them, Mr. Todd said.
