When a person makes a mistake, the correct action is to apologize for it. But that rarely happens in the political world.
Most of the time, elected and appointed political figures either deny the mistake, try to justify it, or issue a non-apology apology -- like "I'm sorry that people misunderstood what I did" or "I'm sorry that people felt hurt by my action".
Those are not real apologies. They shift the blame for the mistake from the person who did it to others. Trying to shift the blame for mistakes is not apologizing. It's just another pathetic attempt to justify the mistake.
In December, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin had a procedure to cure his prostate cancer. In early January, he was experiencing some medical complications from that procedure and went into the hospital. Being a private person (as many people are), the Secretary did not notify the president or the American people of his hospitalization.
Secretary Austin, being a private person (as many of us are), did not notify the president or the press (which had the effect of keeping it a secret from the American people).
The nation's defense was not in jeopardy since either the Secretary or Assistant Secretary was in charge at all time. But the failure to notify was a serious mistake. The president and the nation have a right to know about the hospitalization of such an important government official.
To his credit, Secretary Austin did not try to deny his mistake, justify it, or shift the blame. He issued a real apology on Thursday' press conference, saying, "I want to be crystal clear. I did not handle this right. I should have told the president about my cancer diagnosis. I should have also told my team and the American people, and I take full responsibility. I apologize to my teammates and to the American people."
It is refreshing to see a government official recognize a mistake and issue a real apology for it. Others serving the American people should take note and do the same when they make mistakes. The American people deserve honesty from their officials.
I commend the Secretary for recognizing his mistake and issuing a real apology!
