Radioblogger, the blog run by Hugh Hewitt's engineer, has a transcript of Durbin's "apology". He has the text linked to an MP3 file, so the interested browser can compare the transcript with the audio of the remarks, lest charges of misrepresentation be brought forth.
In the interest of spreading the "apology" far and wide, I quote the entire text:
...continued in full post...
Mr. President, more than most people, a Senator lives by his words. Words are the coin of the realm in our profession. Occasionally, words will fail us, and occasionally, we will fail words. On June the 14th, I took the floor of the Senate to speak about genuine, heartfelt concerns about the treatment of prisoners and detainees at Guantanamo, and other places. I raised legitimate concerns that others have raised, including Secretary of State Colin Powell, about the policies of this administration, and whether they truly do serve our needs to make America safer and more secure. Whether, in fact, some of the policies might, in fact, endanger our troops, or in some ways, disparage the image of America around the world. During the course of that presentation, I read an e-mail from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, that was discovered to exist last August, and has now been produced as part of a Freedom of Information Act. After reading the horrible details in that memo, which characterized the treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo, I then, on my own, my own words, make some characterizations about that memo. I made reference to the Nazis, to the Soviets, and other repressive regimes. Mr. President, I've come to understand that was a very poor choice of words. Last Friday, I tried to make this very clear, that I understood that those analogies, to the Nazis and Soviets and others, were poorly chosen. I issued a release, which I thought made my intentions and my innermost feelings as clear as I possibly could. Let me read to you, Mr. President, what I said in that release last Friday. I have learned from my statement, that historical parralels [sic] 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. Mr. President, it is very clear that even though I thought I had said something that clarified the situation, to many people, it was still unclear. I'm sorry if anything I said caused any offense of pain to those who have such bitter memories of the Holocaust, the greatest moral tragedy of our time. Nothing, nothing should ever be said to demean or dimish [sic] that moral tragedy. I'm also sorry if anything I said in any way cast a negative light on our fine men and women in the military. I went to Iraq just a few months ago with Senator Harry Reid, on a delegation, bipartisan delegation, the President was part of it. When you looked in the eyes of those soldiers, you see your son. You see your daughter. They're the best. I never, ever intended any disrespect for them. Some may believe that my remarks crossed the line. To them, I extend my heartfelt apologies. There's usually a quote from Abraham Lincoln that you can turn to in moments like this. Maybe this is the right one. Lincoln said, if the end brings me out right, what is said against me won't amount to anything. If the end brings me out wrong, ten thousand angels swearing I was right wouldn't make any difference. In the end, I don't want anything in my public career to detract from my love for this country, my respect for those who serve it, and this great Senate. I offer my apologies to those who were offended by my words. I promise you that I will continue to speak out on the issues that I think are important to the people of Illinois, and to the nation. Mr. President, I yield the floor.
(N.b., I've broken this into paragraphs, because I found a solid block of text very intimidating to wade through.)
Today, Dennis Prager spent two hours discussing this "apology". One of the things he points out is that the validity of an apology does not depend on how many tears you shed while giving it. There are other criteria. Probably foremost of these is that you say what it is you are apologizing for. If you don't consider what you did to be wrong, then your apology is meaningless.
What did Durbin apologize for? Well, to the extent that he actually named any kinds of wrong, he apologized for hurting people's feelings.
He's sorry that comparing our detention facilities with the Gulag or a Nazi death camp was in any way insulting to us, or that our soldiers were in any way offended by being compared with Nazis. He's apparently not sorry for drawing such a comparison.
Indeed, after the tears and the apology, Durbin offers a quote from Lincoln which can be read, without too much trouble, as saying, "But I'm still right."
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