We're a nation of many things, but empty apologists, we are not. In Edwards' case, his attempt to come clean came after years of lies, millions of dollars in hush money and potential violations of federal election law. Sorry, dude, but the time to apologize came and went awhile ago. What's really scary here is how this same individual came close to becoming vice president and that his wife, a lawyer in remission with cancer, felt compelled to defend her husband's latest indiscretions. Truly amazing. We have now arrived at full scale public delusion.
Some private sector leaders probably look at John Edwards and say to themselves, "oh, he's in the public eye, that's why he got caught." While that may be technically true, it's misguided rationalization that needs no projection. YouTube will gladly show what you think no one else is watching -- no matter whether you're a CEO of a publicly traded company or leader of a small town school system. If that doesn't make the case, then maybe a passage from the New Testament will: Nothing is hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing is secret that will not be known and come out into the open. (Luke 8:17)
Leaders, if you do something that requires saying you're sorry, please do so privately and then exit the stage gracefully without further word. "This is a private matter" has a much better ring these days than "I'm sorry, but let me tell you what really happened."
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