[beckett]

Frist was absolutely correct to slap Clarke down for presuming to apologize for 911! He is not now nor was he ever in a position to make a public apology for the government. That is clearly a leadership function and in democracies we elect our leaders. Clarke was a mid-level technocrat whose sappy presumption of responsibility for 911 was a craven ploy designed to smear the administration. If you fell for it, you need to worry about your own "tone deafness."

[M. Dodge Thomas]

"Clarke was a mid-level technocrat whose sappy presumption of responsibility for 911 was a craven ploy designed to smear the administration. If you fell for it, you need to worry about your own "tone deafness."

IMO it's a mistake to confuse one's certainty about the inappropriateness of the apology with the fact that it resonated for many listeners.

For the reasons I listed (and many others) it's near suicide in American political culture to admit error - and I view this as an unfortunate and occasionally dangerous aspect of our system.

I don’t pretend to know how Rove (or anyone else) ought to finesse this problem.

But when I look at the poll numbers (for example, that Newsweek poll) and they show a substantial decline in the public's confidence in what has previously been their most favorable impress of this Administration, it's certainly looks to me like a problem.