South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford was Citizen Outreach’s keynote speaker at the first annual Conservative Leadership Conference we held in Reno back in 2007, and I received a letter from him this week addressing the issue of his recently-disclosed extra-marital affair.
“I have struggled with how best to convey my regret in letting you down,” the governor wrote, “and in this regard I realize this letter does not do justice in my attempt to begin the process of saying I am sorry.”
Sanford continued:
“…I wanted to write to apologize for, in the most profound of ways, letting you and so many others down. In life it’s always the people closest to us that we hurt the most, and given our friendship and shared belief in limited government and liberty, I know I’ve hurt you. I apologize for this, and more than anything ask for your forgiveness going forward.
“…I want to thank you for your kindness and support over the years. I plan to be a better friend going forward to indeed honor all you and others have done for me over the years. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I apologize again.”
Now contrast that with Sen. John Ensign’s apology a couple days ago in his first public appearance since his own extra-marital affair was revealed:
“I haven’t done anything legally wrong.”
Is it just me, or does anyone else find this far from adequate?
I tend to now want to kick a conservative when he is down, but I too could not believe Ensign’s “apology.” If you want to call it an “apology” anyway.
And what was up with his “what I did was not as bad as what Clinton did” line. First off, even if that is true (and I am not convinced it is true), so what? Second, since when do we conservatives EVER fall back on “yeah, well I was a jerk but I wasn’t as big a jerk as (fill in a Democrat’s name) was.”
I’ve tried to hold my tongue on this, because he certainly votes like a conservative, but I am starting to believe he should resign. We don’t need this distraction heading into 2010.
Oops – I meant “I tend to NOT want to kick a conservative when he is down”
To be fair, these two quotes were said in very different contexts. Ensign already has apologized, quite unconditionally, and did so again at that chamber of commerce meeting where the “legally wrong” quote was uttered:
“I think it would be inappropriate to start any other way than to say I’m sorry,” [Ensign] said. “I’ve said I’m sorry. I can’t say I’m sorry enough. I made a big mistake in my life and I apologize once again to all of you.”
His “nothing legally wrong” answer was in response to a very specific question in which he was asked to distinguish between his misconduct and Clinton’s, and more specifically, why Clinton should have resigned but Ensign himself should not. I think pointing out that Clinton committed a felony for which he was subsequently disbarred and impeached while Ensign did not is a significant, important, and fair distinction to make.
Ensign’s sin with this particular quote is to hand his critics a PERFECT soundbite that could be used to so easily beat him over the head, and to trust that the AP wasn’t asking a loaded question. He was asked a specific question, and he answered it in a straightforward and analytical way, without regard to how it would look and sound when placed by itself and out of context in 26 pt headline font in every newspaper in the country. Simply put, he foolishly let down his guard and shot in the face as a result.
It’s not that Ensign doesn’t deserve boatloads of criticism for the whole sordid mess, and it’s good for Conservatives to be intellectually consistent when addressing the situation. But let’s criticize him for what he actually did (and didn’t) do and say, and do it in it’s full and correct context. There’s no profit for conservatism (or secondarily, the GOP) to continue the circular firing squad using ammunition manufactured in no small part by a “gotcha” question from a reporter who very likely does not share our political philosophy.