Just Say You're Sorry, John

The Post Star has an Op-Ed about Sweeney's recent Old School Frat Boy Friday. They call on Sweeney to apologize to his constituents. Though let's not hold our breath or anything. I have a feeling that the inability to admit he's wrong and/or accepting responsibility for his mistakes is another trait that Sweeney has in common with W. Read the full story here. The shorter version:

It's not so much what Congressman John Sweeney was drinking.

It's more a matter of, "What was he thinking?" Whether the congressman was having a frank discussion with young constituents about steroids in baseball or pounding a couple of Keystones with the boys is beside the point. ... there's simply no plausible reason why he -- or any other 50-year-old guy, for that matter -- should have placed himself in that position. ...none of this could have happened without the congressman willingly putting himself in a questionable place at a questionable time with a questionable crowd.

In his second-day explanation, he seemed to put the blame for his bad judgment on a friend who persuaded him to visit the frat house that night. On an action so obviously ill-advised, one would expect our congressman would be able to think and respond appropriately on his own.

How about this for a response: "I'm sorry, my friend. But I'm sure you could understand how it would look for a U.S. congressman to be seen visiting a frat house party at 1 in the morning. If the kids would like to meet me and talk about issues, I'd be glad to chat with them at the student center on Monday morning." ... On the heels of Sweeney's memorable ski weekend in Utah with lobbyists and a report released Thursday saying that Democrats are already salivating over their prospects of reclaiming this congressional seat, this incident couldn't have come at a worse time for Sweeney or Republicans. The congressman owes his constituents more than an explanation. He owes them an apology.