Just when you think Politifact can’t make any more of a mockery of itself than it already has – over and over and over and over again – they wade into the breach today on foreign policy. More specifically, they took issue with Mitt Romney’s statement today that “I think it’s a terrible course for America to stand in apology for our values.”
Romney was speaking, of course, about Tweets from the Cairo embassy prior to the storming of the embassy that condemned “the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims.” After the attacks began, the embassy Tweeted again – this time to double down on that contention. That sounds an awful lot like an apology.
So, what did Politifact have to say? They interviewed three “apology experts.” Seriously. First, they interviewed Professor John Murphy, of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who said it wasn’t an apology because “the statement does not use the word ‘apology’ or ‘apologize’ and does not use any synonym for that word.” Second, they interviewed Lauren Bloom, “an attorney and business consultant who wrote The Art of the Apology.” What did she say? Romney’s “once again allowing his emotional allergy to apology to interfere with his judgment.” Finally, they interviewed Professor Rhoda E. Howard-Hassman, who said the statement was “not an apology.”
Well, then! If the experts say so, it must not be an apology! Sure, Murphy is a fan of the Occupy movement. Sure, Bloom authors pieces like “10 Reasons Why Obama Will Be Re-Elected.” Sure, Howard-Hassman is a radical liberal who rips on “reactionary conservatism.” But these are non-partisan “apology experts,” dammit!
Politifact’s a joke. What’s more, they’re a joke that ought to get a check from the Obama campaign.
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