I'm pretty much a conservative, and I have never understood the liberal's desire for having people "apologize." I remember when Bill Clinton apologized for slavery in Africa; his African hosts couldn't understand why he apologized for something he had nothing to do with; in fact they were sort of insulted since their ancestors had been the ones who did the enslaving. This love of apology must reveal some fundamental difference in liberals and conservatives. I don't understand the demands for Hillary Clinton to "apologize" for her vote to go to war in Iraq. She has said she now regards it as a mistake. Some may feel that going to war was a mistake, but there were good reasons for deposing Saddam. In fact, the Bill Clinton Administration had made regime change in Iraq the US policy. It will be years before we know if it was a mistake, and even then there will be dispute. For example, I think most people would agree that Carter made serious mistakes in Middle East policy, particularly with Iran. Mistakes that are the root cause of our problems there now. But I'm sure Carter's advisors would disagree. In fact, Carter and his advisors think Bush should adopt policies similar to what they did despite the obvious failure of those policies with regard to both Iran and Israel. Actually Carter failed pretty much in all ways. He is now as much an embarrasment as an "elder statesman" as he was as President.

UPDATE on 22 February:

This morning I heard on the news that Hillary wants Obama to apologize for something some Hollywood mogul said about her. Apparently Obama couldn't understand why he should apologize for something someone else said. He must not understand the liberal need for apology.

UPDATE on 24 February

The Virginia Legislature must now be controlled by Democrats. They have decided to apologize for slavery. This despite the fact that no one who was a slave or owned a slave is still alive. I don't see how this helps anyone, but maybe the Democrats expect to gain some votes.

Virginia General Assembly Passes Resolution Expressing 'Profound Regret' for State's Role in Slavery
Saturday, February 24, 2007

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RICHMOND, Va. — Meeting on the grounds of the former Confederate Capitol, the Virginia General Assembly voted unanimously Saturday to express "profound regret" for the state's role in slavery.

Sponsors of the resolution say they know of no other state that has apologized for slavery, although Missouri lawmakers are considering such a measure. The resolution does not carry the weight of law but sends an important symbolic message, supporters said.

"This session will be remembered for a lot of things, but 20 years hence I suspect one of those things will be the fact that we came together and passed this resolution," said Delegate A. Donald McEachin, a Democrat who sponsored it in the House of Delegates.

The resolution passed the House 96-0 and cleared the 40-member Senate on a unanimous voice vote. It does not require Gov. Timothy M. Kaine's approval.

The measure also expressed regret for "the exploitation of Native Americans."

The resolution was introduced as Virginia begins its celebration of the 400th anniversary of Jamestown, where the first Africans arrived in 1619. Richmond, home to a popular boulevard lined with statues of Confederate heroes, later became another point of arrival for Africans and a slave-trade hub.

The resolution says government-sanctioned slavery "ranks as the most horrendous of all depredations of human rights and violations of our founding ideals in our nation's history, and the abolition of slavery was followed by systematic discrimination, enforced segregation, and other insidious institutions and practices toward Americans of African descent that were rooted in racism, racial bias, and racial misunderstanding."

In Virginia, black voter turnout was suppressed with a poll tax and literacy tests before those practices were struck down by federal courts, and state leaders responded to federally ordered school desegregation with a "Massive Resistance" movement in the 1950s and early '60s. Some communities created exclusive whites-only schools.

The apology is the latest in a series of strides Virginia has made in overcoming its segregationist past. Virginia was the first state to elect a black governor — L. Douglas Wilder in 1989 — and the Legislature took a step toward atoning for Massive Resistance in 2004 by creating a scholarship fund for blacks whose schools were shut down between 1954 and 1964.

Among those voting for the measure was Delegate Frank D. Hargrove, an 80-year-old Republican who infuriated black leaders last month by saying "black citizens should get over" slavery.

After enduring a barrage of criticism, Hargrove successfully co-sponsored a resolution calling on Virginia to celebrate "Juneteenth," a holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.

I have some comments about this article. It is curious that they want to celebrate June 19th (called Juneteenth) which is date Texas slaves celebrated independence. In the South the date celebrated was May 8th (back in those days it took longer for news to reach Texas). The stuff about the poll tax keeping blacks from voting is simply not true, or at least wasn't true in Texas. I remember when I was young my Grandfather was an election judge. Almost all of the voters were black even though I had heard that blacks were denied the vote. My Grandfather explained that the party (that would be Democrats) paid the poll tax for the blacks, and told them who to vote for. (In those days, the Democrat primary was the real election, since there were few Republicans in Texas back in the 1940's.) Another disclaimer: one of my ancestors died in Jamestown in 1621. He was a knight, so he may have been well off. I don't know if he owned slaves or not, but I'm not apologizing for him in any event.