Imperial Valley Press Apologizes for Sick Cartoon Villifying GOP Candidate and Iraq Vet Nick Popaditch

From editor Brad Jennings at Imperial Valley Press, "Cartoon Not Meant to Offend."



RTWT.



It's a weaselly apology, or an admission of stupidity. And while attempting genuine humility, this part toward the end still comes across as blaming:

I called Popaditch on Monday and apologized to him. He accepted that apology with much grace and didn’t appear to be that offended by the cartoon himself. We will continue to cover this race for Congress, and Mr. Popaditch has my assurance that we will be fair in our coverage of him.



Ultimately, I don’t want this to become a story about this newspaper, which has a long history in the Imperial Valley, personally attacking a candidate who happens to be a war veteran. Sadly, I see that this has been e-mailed around to partisans who are trying to make this some kind of rallying cry. I am getting calls from conservative radio and bloggers who are apparently trying to make this more than it really is. That is politics in 2010 America.

My sense is that a sincere apology doesn't condemn those who've been offended. And while Popaditch may have been a class act in accepting the apology, this kind of stuff leaves a bad taste in the mouths of activists, and if it were me I wouldn't quickly turn the other cheek.



But hey, it's hard out there for a journalist. Jennings, dude, suck it up.

Michelle has more, "Mocking War Hero Nick Popaditch: A Teachable Moment."