#481 Some Mistakes

It’s usually my policy to steer away from political humor in these essays. Politics is rarely light and Leno and Letterman already plumb the low points that are. I’m an independent, which usually means the right wing considers me too left and the left wing considers me too right. I like to think it allows me to perceive the excesses of both sides of the aisle. The only drawback is, come the wedding I’ve got no place to sit. That disclaimer in place, let me say that it is a testimony to the political brilliance of President Bush and his immediate circle that they have shown Bill Clinton a trick or two. As in the mea culpa. Mea culpa is a Latin phrase meaning roughly, “my bad.” Bush and the boys understood the lesson of Monica Lewinsky far too well. Get out there with your admission and apology early. Before the resentment starts to brew. Because we’re a pretty forgive-and-forget nation. At least a forget nation. Our history SATs are way down.
Bush has honed it down to a formula. The phrase goes like this: “Mistakes Were Made, I Accept Full Responsibility.” Then he rolls the dice, lands on the Community Chest, and draws the Get Out of Jail Free card. If only Clinton had said, “Mistakes Were Made, I Accept Full Responsibility” and said it early, what a different world this would be. For one thing, Inconvenient Truth wouldn’t have been made because Al Gore would have been too busy.
And the phrasing is simply marvelous—the wonderful indeterminate subject, passive voice. Mistakes were made. By whom? Doesn’t matter. Not the question. It’s just those pesky old mistakes. I accept responsibility but I’m not really responsible. It was those mistakes. It was their fault. Except Scooter Libby. His mistakes caught up with him. But his conviction has a bright side. Right wing talk radio has another recruit with the necessary requirement on his resume. Say what you will about Right Wing talk show hosts, they certainly have convictions.
America, ya gotta love it