The Classic Non-Apology Apology

Senator Dick Durbin (D-Il) says he’s sorry–sorry if you took offense at his words:

“I have learned from my statement that historical parallels can be misused and misunderstood. I sincerely regret if what I said caused anyone to misunderstand my true feelings: Our soldiers around the world and their families at home deserve our respect, admiration and total support.”

Of course–Durbin showed his respect, admiration and total support by comparing them to Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot.

As Ed Morrissey notes, Durbin’s latest spin is cloaked in classic non-apology apology weasel language:

Note that he doesn’t retract a word of what he said. He says that he regrets if others misunderstood his “true feelings”, not that what he said was wrong and historically inept. Basically, this is the translation one is meant to hear:

I’m sorry you were too stupid to understand me.

If this is the best that Durbin can do after comparing the men and women of our armed forces to Nazis and Stalin’s goons, as well as comparing Islamofascist terrorists to Japanese-American victims of WWII detention centers, then he’s a bigger idiot than I thought.

Will Collier calls Durbin “A Window On The Moonbat Soul“:

A confession: I’m having a hard time getting worked up over Dick Durbin.

Yes, what he said was indefensible and stupid, but Durbin’s never been anything but a party machine hack, and few senators on either side of the aisle are often described as “intelligent.” Yes, the statement itself is destructive nonsense destined to be endlessly recycled in propaganda from the al-Jazeeras and New York Timeses of the world, and one would hope that a high-ranking US senator would know better, but then again, this is Dickie Durbin we’re talking about. It’s not really that surprising when you consider the source.

Durbin’s Nazi-Soviet-Khmer-Rouge ramble was probably only tossed out as a bit of red meat (or perhaps deep-fried Vegan tofu) for the MooreOn donations crowd. I’ve no doubt that he and the DSCC have been raking in leftie money over the last couple of days. They’ll need it–since what Durbin’s dumb rant really accomplished was demonstrating to everybody else just how unserious the Democratic Party is when it comes to dealing with terrorism.

As Patrick Ruffini noted, it does seem strange that the left are chosing to argue from a position of weakness. However, like the already detracted “Piss Koran” story in Newsweek, what matters less is how it’s playing in America, versus the damage that all of this is causing via the Middle East press.