Mitt Romney's 'Say You're Sorry' Demand of Obama Backfires
¬snip¬
The purpose of an apology is unclear at best. Most of us, as children, were told by a parent to say we're sorry for something we had done. In many, if not most, cases, we weren't sorry at all. But the point was to teach basic manners—and it's also why I still apologize to a table if I accidentally bump into one of its legs. The training to say "sorry" is just too ingrained.
But if you are an adult and have to demand an apology, you do it knowing that if the person has to be goaded into it, it's not sincere. The same goes for asking someone to say "I love you." If you have to ask, the feeling isn't there.
But Romney, most likely, isn't so emotionally wounded by the Bain criticisms that an apology would do anything to mollify him. And that's not the purpose of the request. It's to make Obama look like a little kid who is so in over his head that he needs to be scolded and disciplined like an elementary schooler. The trouble is, it doesn't make the Romney campaign look like the adults in this little drama. It makes them look petulant and ridiculous and a little whiny. Given the vitriolic nature of broadcast ads run by or on behalf of both campaigns, it's laughable that an apology would make everyone shake hands and go back to playing an honest game of ball.
The demand was made to make Obama look ill-behaved and immature. It's managed to give that image to the Romney campaign.
more:http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/susan-milligan/2012/07/17/mitt-romneys-say-youre-sorry-demand-of-obama-backfires
= new reply since forum marked as read
