Search google news for “should apologize” and you’ll find a raft of people owe apologies:
- Bill Clinton
- Bernie Sanders
- Hillary Clinton
- Ted Cruz
- Vincent Fox
- Rosario Dawson
- Paula Abdul
- John Gibbons, Blue Jays manager
- Mike Krzyzewski, Duke men’s basketball coach
- Drake
- Apple
Do a similar search of “fight for you” and you’ll learn that a lot of folks that have your back:
- Hillary Clinton
- Bernie Sanders
- Donald Trump
- Ted Cruz
- Aleksandar Vucic, Serbian Prime Minister
- Randy Forbes, representative for Virginia’s 4th Congressional district
- Philip Eby, a Republican candidate for the Texas legislature
- Joe Morrissey, candidate for mayor in Richmond, VA
- Isaac Coleman, candidate for Buncombe County Commissioner, NC
- David Madore, a Republican politician in Clark County, WA
- Candidates for Valdosta State University and University of Florida student presidents
When I hear political candidates either demanding apologies or vowing to fight for me, I’m unmoved. Perhaps, I’ve just heard those two phrases too many times. I recall wincing when I heard Al Gore (for whom I gladly voted) say that he would fight for me. (In my mind’s eye, I still see him behind a podium, gesturing with a borrowed Clinton thumb.) And I stop reading or listening as soon as I learn that someone is demanding an apology from someone else. To me, that’s the weakest of teas.
I wish that Democratic candidates would find other, stronger ways to highlight an opponent’s distasteful words or to pledge support for the wishes of his or her constituents. Maybe “To me that statement is abhorrent.” And, “I’m a fighter. Together we will do X. We will do Y. We will do Z. We will not be stopped.” Not much better, huh? No one should hire me to write political speeches. But what about some of you folks who are more gifted with oratory? Would you be willing to share some phrases that Democrats might use in place of “So & So should apologize” and “I will fight for you?”