In an emotional statement on the Senate floor Tuesday, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., apologized for remarks a week ago in which he likened mistreatment of U.S. terror war prisoners to what Nazis and Soviets had done in decades past.
Durbin is quoted as saying, “”Some may believe that my remarks crossed the line. To them I extend my heartfelt apologies.” He also said he wanted soldiers who felt he’d insulted them to know he believes: “They’re the best. I never, ever intended any disrespect for them.”
Durbin’s original statement was clearly rhetorical excess. It was faulty because, given what we know, any and all mistreatment of current U.S. prisoners doesn’t begin to approach the horrors inflicted by Nazis and Soviets.
In the end, Durbin did harm to his purpose. His inflammatory remarks gave Republican defenders of the status quo an opening to shift attention from the need for reform to how bad his statement was. He also invited demagogues to twist his words into a condemnation of our troops, although a fair reading of what he said makes clear he had hit on policies and policy makers, not soldiers.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., spoke after Durbin had finished. McCain exhibited the kind of compassion and decency too rarely seen from his side of the aisle these days:
“All of us, I believe, who have had the opportunity to serve in public life from time to time have said things that we deeply regret. I know that I have. I would like to say that the senator from Illinois, he did the right thing, the courageous thing, and I believe we can put this issue behind us.”
Owning up to a mistake is difficult. Having to do it in front of 99 colleagues and the whole world via TV must be really hard. Durbin showed class in apologizing. McCain exhibited equal class in his gracious response.
