Update: Mark Sanford Wins Congressional Seat, Keeps Lover

Remember last summer when I wrote here about the marital infidelity of South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford and the press conference attempting to explain his misbehavior, an explanation heavily influenced, it seemed, by the overheated yet soggy prose of Robert James Waller?  My final call at the time was that, although the Governor was able to finish his term, his political future remained cloudy.

Then this happened last night.

The clouds have parted for newly elected congressman Sanford and he can move forward with both his political career and Argentine lover (now fiancee).  In the end, the same communication behavior that doomed him in 2009 saved him in 2013--his total willingness to overshare with the media.  Sanford's near-constant press availability during the closing week of the campaign (especially in contrast to his opponent's play-it-safe strategy) created precious opportunities for Sanford to plant doubts about Elizabeth Colbert Busch's policy positions and ease voters' discomfort with awarding him a second chance in politics.

Few things inspire more ambivalence than a story of premature redemption born of dumb luck and voting district party affiliation disparity.  But the romantic in me sighs and thinks "I knew those two would end up together...."  

Texas Toast: Ten Year Anniversary of Dixie Chicks' "Entertainment Weekly" Cover and Interview About Anti-Bush Remark (May 2, 2003)

What was the deal?  During a concert in London on March 10, 2003, with the U.S. a week from invading Iraq, Dixie Chicks lead singer Natalie Maines told an audience, “We’re ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas,” referring to fellow Lone Star denizen, President George W. Bush, a strong proponent of war with Iraq.  With that, the popular country trio was plunged into controversy and castigation.  Outraged fans, media commentators, and politicians accused Maines—along with bandmates Martie Maguire and Emily Robison—of being unpatriotic and even traitorous to their country.  That Maines made the remark on the brink of war and on foreign only intensified the negative reaction.  The retribution was swift:  radio stations stopped playing the Chicks' music, album sales plummeted, and calls for the band's demise came from multiple quarters.  On March 14, Maines apologized, acknowledging that the President should always be given the "utmost respect."  After two months of silence on the flap, Maines, Maguire, and Robison sat down for an interview with Entertainment Weekly to address the situation.

What did they say?  The interview, which appeared in the May 2, 2003, issue of the entertainment magazine, can be found here.

How did they do?  Maines uses differentiation strategy early in the exchange when she makes a distinction between President Bush and U.S. troops fighting in Iraq, emphasizing that her disapproval was directed at the former, not the latter.  Maguire corroborates this claim by revealing that Robison immediately added "But you know we support the troops 100 percent."  No one has disputed this account, so it would seem to be a pretty effective move to add this pivotal information in a high-profile media interview.  Maines repeated her apology for disrespecting the office of the president (mortification strategy) and smartly draws on her positive role as a mother (Bolstering strategy) to express her concerns and fears about Iraqi children potentially harmed by the U.S. invasion, or worse.  Finally, employing transcendence strategy, Robison stated:  "I think everyone is afraid [about tensions in the world] and they need to vent it somehow.  Not that they aren't truly mad [at us] about something.  But what brings something to this level, especially when we as a group or Natalie have never said anything in this realm before?"  Robison clearly acknowledges that this strategy may be pushing it, however, if one finds the public and media reaction disproportionate, she reminds the audience that this may not be about the Dixie Chicks after all.

Final Call?  Sinkhole.  Over time, the Dixie Chicks were able crawl out of the hole and reestablish their critical and commercial success, but certainly this interview didn't help much.  So if the trio effectively applied well-established apologia strategies, as I seem to conclude above, why did this media event fail?  Two reasons:  First, the cover.  Although Maguire defends the provocative pose during the Q&A, it just came across as gratuitous, desperate, and, frankly, a little confusing.  Why create this polarizing distraction that hits the reader in the face and reminds them of the trumped-up charges before turning the interview itself?  Second, the era.  As with Arnold Schwarzenegger's "girlie men" comment, this controversy arose at a very weird time in our political and cultural history.  With patriotism wielded like a blunt weapon, rational dissent and worldly sophistication were routinely eviscerated.  To that extent, Robison may not have been persuasive, but she was correct:  The Dixie Chicks were swept away in the whirlwind of post-9/11 scapegoating.      

Welcome to the Club, Mr. President: Obama Apologizes to Kamala Harris for "Best Looking" Remark

White House press secretary Jay Carney today revealed that President Obama had apologized to Kamala Harris for calling California's attorney general "by far the best looking attorney general" in the country. The story can be found here.  The remark, made during a DNC fundraiser, generated immediate MSM criticism of Obama's uncharacteristic unforced error.  According to Carney, "[Obama] fully recognizes the challenges women continue to face in the workplace and that they should not be judged based on appearance. They're old friends. He certainly regretted that [his comments] caused a distraction." As for Harris's reaction, her camp released a statement reaffirming the attorney general's longstanding friendship with and strong support of Obama.

Maybe they are friends, but this falls squarely in WGT (Why Go There) territory. Kind of like Obama's infamous Special Olympics bowling comment on The Tonight Show--just gratuitous and dumb. He obviously knew that commenting on a professional woman's appearance was sexist, or at the least would be interpreted as sexist by many, and, after the escapades of the Big Dog, Bill Clinton, should know that the public is not ready for another casanova-in-chief.   Not to mention that with his second term initiatives stalling and public approval declining, his high favorability numbers, based significantly on the perception of Obama as a loving husband and father, is the best thing he has going at the moment.  So what to make of this "old friends" defense?  Seems like a weird kind of differentiation strategy, redefining the comment as relationship schtick rather than condescending come-on. Does that make it okay because, what, he routinely compliments Harris on her looks?  I can't imagine Michelle, nor the millions of Americans who adore Michelle, being thrilled about that.

Obama's quick apology (mortification strategy) and a plethora of other news stories (North Korea, today's jobs report, the president's budget, and next week's gun control debate in Congress) will take the air out of this incident in short order. But it was a stupid thing to say and he should know better. The "best looking" comment came just after Obama praised Harris as "brilliant," "dedicated," and "tough," instantly undercutting what should have been a shining career moment for the fast-rising California pol.  I guess what bugs me most is that the president seemed to hand out that praise just to make the flirty banter more palatable, hence, the odd opening to the passage:  "You have to be careful to, first of all, say she is brilliant and she is dedicated and she is tough..."  Why would he need to be "careful" about espousing those qualities. It seems more likely that what he really wanted to remark on was how the attorney general's beauty made her more serious qualities a surprise, or something along those lines. 

But, in the end, Obama ends up relatively unscathed and Harris gets national exposure (and a lot of Google image searches). The real loser in all of this is Eric Holder, who's probably thinking, "Yeah, she's attractive but, c'mon, by far the best looking attorney general? What am I, chopped liver?"

Meanwhile, Kelli Goff, a blogger for The Root, offers a different take on the episode here, criticizing the double standard at work in the media's criticism of Obama. It's worth a read.

Copycat Cop-out: Juan Williams Addresses Plagiarism Accusation

Fox News contributor Juan Williams yesterday explained how entire paragraphs from a Center for American Progress report ended up in his own piece about immigration reform.  The story can be found here.  Unfortunately, Williams relies on the go-to shift blame strategy for plagiarism allegations:  throw the researcher under the bus.  Hey, Juan, if you put your name above the words, they're your words.  And if they're not literally your words, they're your fault.    

Diced Onion: Satire Publication Apologizes to Quvenzhane Wallis

Yeah, it was that bad.  Although historically it rarely deigns to do so, today The Onion apologized for its ugly tweet directed at nine-year-old Oscar nominee Quvenzhane Wallis.  The tweet, posted during last night's broadcast of the Academy Awards, met with immediate and intense condemnation.  Sanity finally prevailed when a full apology appeared on the Onion Facebook page.

As a dad to six- and two-year-old girls, I have no interest in breaking this down further.  Rather I will congratulate Quvenzhane on her nomination and hope she had fun at the Oscars.

Super Bowl Sunday Flash/back: Janet Jackson's Video Apology for the Wardrobe Malfunction (February 3, 2004)

Before the Ravens and 49ers take the field tonight to determine this year's NFL champion, let's take a moment of solemn reflection on Super Bowl's darkest hour split-second.  Nine years ago today, fading pop star Janet Jackson released a grainy, bunker-like video, apologizing for the now-infamous "wardrobe malfunction" during the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show.  As I'm sure everyone remembers, at the end of a duet with Jackson, Justin Timberlake pulled off part of Jackson's wardrobe causing it to, well, malfunction, flashing Jackson's breast in front of, oh, only about 90 million people.  The media went crazy.  The FCC, headed by Michael Powell, went really crazy.  Everyone involved apologized, but it didn't matter, because apparently life in America would never be the same.  Certainly, Jackson's career wouldn't, although, oddly enough, JT seems to be doing just fine.  Anyway, enjoy the game!

Twitter!

Club Apologia is now on Twitter, featuring links to breaking news reports and commentary about apologia and image repair situations.  The link is here.  Just added today:  Manti Teo's interview with Katie Couric!