DURBIN APOLOGIZES?

From FOX:

WASHINGTON — Sen. Dick Durbin went to the Senate floor late Tuesday to offer his apologies to anyone who may have been offended by his comparison of treatment of detainees at the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Nazis, Soviet gulags and Cambodia's Pol Pot.

"More than most people, a senator lives by his words ... occasionally words fail us, occasionally we will fail words," Durbin, D-Ill., said.

"I am sorry if anything I said caused any offense or pain to those who have such bitter memories of the Holocaust, the greatest moral tragedy of our time. Nothing, nothing should ever be said to demean or diminish that moral tragedy.

"I am also sorry if anything I said cast a negative light on our fine men and women in the military ... I never ever intended any disrespect for them. Some may believe that my remarks crossed the line to them I extend my heartfelt apology," Durbin said, choking on his words.

...But on Tuesday, he left little room for second-guessing whether he realized his error.

"After reading the horrible details in that memo which characterized the treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo, I then, on my own, my own words, made some characterizations about that memo ... I have come to understand that was a very poor choice of words," he said.

Under Pol Pot's regime, 1.5 million died in death camps and another 200,000 so-called "enemies of the state" were executed. The Nazis killed 6 million Jews and forced hundreds of thousands into slave labor. The USSR's Joseph Stalin sent 25 million people to labor camps where many were worked to death.

While more than 1,700 U.S. soldiers have died helping to liberate Iraq first from Saddam Hussein and then from a deadly insurgency, no detainees at Guantanamo Bay have died in custody.

Durbin pledged to 'continue to speak out on the issues that I think are important to the people of Illinois and the nation," but added that he did not mean to diminish the image of the United States in the world.

"I don't want anything in my public career to detract from my love for this country, my respect for those who serve it and this great Senate. I offer my apologies to those who were offended by more words," he said.

Immediately after his remarks, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said he thought Durbin made a "heartfelt statement" and he was satisfied with the apology.

"He did the right thing, the courageous thing and I think we can put the situation behind us," McCain said.

More, from AP.


First off, I don't care whether or not McCain was satisfied with Durbin's apology.

How can you characterize his statement as being "heartfelt" when it took a full week before he delivered it? He and other Dems defended it. They stood firm. No retreat, no surrender.

Most likely, a poll showed the American people weren't buying it; so Durbin had to make a retraction.

Durbin was not choking on his words because he felt remorse for what he said. He was choking on his words because he was called on his anti-American statements bashing the U.S. military.

NO ELECTED DEMOCRATS IN WASHINGTON PUBLICALLY DEMANDED THAT DURBIN APOLOGIZE. NONE!

For a week, the Dems tried to gloss over Durbin's statement, insisting that the right wing media were twisting his words.

Now, suddenly, Durbin wants us to believe he saw the light. He just came to the conclusion that he actually did say something extremely offensive.

Yeah, right.

Durbin and the Democrats showed Americans what they think of our military. They showed Americans that they believe our country is akin to Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and Pol Pot's Cambodia. We know what the Democratic Party truly thinks of us.

The truth is Durbin's apology was a political move. It wasn't heartfelt. It was selfish and, in effect, completely devoid of meaning.