We all know the Right Wing loves to attack President Obama for kicking off the first few months of Post-Bush America with a world-wide "Apology Tour." It's been debunked by anyone who can read a speech transcript, and last night the President pushed back against Governor Romney all but calling it malarkey.
But what if the President had apologized to the world?
"Sorry for our country giving in to hysteria and overzealous faux-patriotism and invading a country that had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks."
"Sorry that we abducted foreign nationals and either tortured them in secret prisions or used rendition to turn them over to countries we knew were going to torture them."
"Sorry that we spent almost a decade ignoring The Hague and Geneva Conventions, and wrote off the Rome Statute and ICC."
"Sorry that lawyers in the previous administration twisted the English language in order to justify the use of waterboarding and other 'enhanced interrogation techniques' that we would be appalled to see our enemies use."
"Sorry unchecked (and often encouraged) Wall Street greed nearly destroyed the global economy."
"Sorry our unmanned drones blew up that school/wedding party/Tylenol factory."
"Sorry for that whole 'with us or against Freedom' guilt trip we laid on half the world to convince them to go along with our invasion of Iraq."
"Sorry for all the abstinence only programs the previous administration put in place that probably killed a bunch of people around the world (particularly on the African continent) because we refused to promote safe sex."
"Sorry for denying that global warming could be man-made and dismissing the Kyoto-treaty."
I could go on and on with all the things that President Obama could have apologized for. The previous administration did a lot of damage to the world, and to our country's reputation. If the President had gone out and offered his sincere apologies, why would that have been a bad thing? Admitting your mistakes and owning up to them makes you better, not weaker.
It takes strong character to admit failure, to show humility. That might fly in the face of the machismo, John Wayne-esque stereotype the Right Wing likes to throw out there, but having the courage to apologize is simply not weakness. If I were to hazard a guess (and being a simple plaintiff's trial attorney with no personal foreign policy experience, it wouldn't be too educated of a guess) I would say that a simple "On behalf of my country, I'm sorry" would have resonated deeply with individuals all over the world. If you step up, take responsibility, and promise to turn things around and avoid making the same mistakes again, you're well on your way to restoring our reputation not just with world leaders, but with the citizens of those countries. It might even make America (and American citizens abroad, civilian and soldier alike) a safer place.
So no, Mr. Romney, the President did not go on an "Apology Tour", but personally, I wish he had. And I, for one, will never see why you think it would have been a bad thing.