No Room For An Apology

Did anyone else watch the President last night during the news conference from the White House? I think I've written a little this election year about how I'm really trying hard to get involved, to make informed decisions beyond the rhetoric, to listen to both sides of the political divide, etc. So I watched with an ear for hearing something different, something that would make me want to stand up for something. I think I heard it, but it was garbled by the spin that was placed on the questions from the reporters, from his own answers and coaching, and from the pundits who gave their $.02 afterwards.

I feel like we're headed in the right direction, that we're facing down the terrorists and methodically doing something about the threat to our national and collective security. But it seems that politically, either you want to blame President Bush for the 9/11/01 tragedies, or you want to absolve him from all culpability. Maybe there's some grey area in there, but the rhetoric makes it sway to the extremes. And there's not much room for a middle ground.

Personally, I feel that the 19 hijackers, their benefactors and training buddies, and their leaders with the plans were the ones who are to blame. Could it have been prevented? I don't know, and no one else does either. At the same time, there's no room for anyone in authority to be able to say, "I'm sorry. This happened on my watch, and I'm wracking my head to try to see what we missed", without that kind of thing coming back to haunt at election time.

Three times, he was asked variations on the same question: "Is there anything you'd like to apologize for, and mistake made that you've learned from?" I wanted him to answer it by saying, "Yes, I'm sorry this happened. I'm sorry we didn't see it coming." I wanted him to be able to say it, because he strikes me as a man who would say that to you in your time of loss and mourning. But we can't go there, since everyone's pointing fingers backward at what might've happened if...

Just me ranting - have a nice day.
- posted by Rick @ 09:35