Apologies are fascinating for what it says about a person. They are meant to be an act of humility and contrition to bring about reconciliation but they are often far from it. Case in point, Rush Limbaugh's "apology" for calling a woman a slut and prostitute. You can read the transcript here.   What do you think?  Did it fall short?

Four components of an apology:

1. Full admission of wrong (no hedging, minimizing, blaming others, etc.)

2. Expression of true sorrow and remorse showing empathy for how you hurt someone.

3. Asking forgiveness from the offended.

4. A commitment to not re-offend.

Good apologies calm the waters. Bad ones stir them up because it is like throwing salt in the wound. A bad apology is like saying, "I really don't get your problem. I'm just saying this to keep you and others happy." Which of course doesn't make anyone happy!So what do you think? How did Rush do hitting these four points?  You might want to read his followup to the apology as well.

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