I have heard Dean talk about the guys with Confederate flags and their kids with no health insurance since February at least. I knew what he was talking about, and so did everybody else.
Did Dean offend the black community or southern whites–way back when he first started saying expressing his “big-tent” ideal in this colorful way?
Hell, no. And that’s not what the ruckus at last night’s debate was about.
So now, Dean has apologized for any pain he might have caused to black people or southern whites. That is all the apology he owes anybody, IMO.
But I sure would like to hear some other apologies–from the candidates who tried to twist Dean’s words in a way that is sure to hurt us in 2004–no matter which one of them runs.
Who owes America an apology?
- I’d like to hear an apology from Kerry, for saying that Deans ‘pandering’ to the National Rifle Association gave him an inroad to ‘pander to lovers of the Confederate flag.’.
- I’d like to hear an apology from Edwards (“The last thing we need in the South is somebody like you coming down and telling us what we need to do”).
- I’d like to hear an apology from Sharpton (“Imagine if I said that I wanted to be the candidate of people with helmets and swastikas.”).
Those are the apologies I’d like to hear.