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3/7/2007
Does a public servant never have to say "I'm sorry?"
Two generals testified Monday before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee about the conditions and bureaucratic mess at Walter Reed. Dana Milbank at the Washington Post wrote an excellent story, comparing the two Army generals; one able to say “I’m sorry,” the other clearly unable to mouth, much less internalize the words.
It’s true in every area of our lives isn’t it? The military doesn’t have a monopoly on pride – or fear – or whatever it is. There are those who can say “Please forgive me.” “I’m so sorry.” “It’s my fault, I’ve got to turn it around.” And those that just can’t.
I commend the article to you – it’s a good read and one of those life’s lessons that once in a while shows up on page one. When you near the end of the article, note quotes from assorted lawmakers sizing up the situation:
“There appears to be a pattern developing here that we’ve seen before,” said Rep. John Tierney (D-Mass). “First deny, then try to cover up, then designate a fall guy.”
Rep. John Duncan (R-Tenn) shared the view of a colleague’s wife that Kiley [the general that couldn’t say ‘I’m sorry’] “skirted this stuff for five years and blamed everyone else.”
Ok, were the observant congressmen talking about the general or about fellow congressmen? (This time, it’s the general – but isn’t it hard to tell?)
Of course, the oft-used model today is President Bush, who can’t seem to say “I’m sorry.” And then there’s Vice President Cheney who let Scooter Libby take the fall for him on this Valerie Plame business. And our very own Representative Kagen – did he ever really apologize? Well first he did, adding a litany of all he was going to accomplish. And then came the un-apology. Weird. But I guess we’ve all done it……
And then there’s the now former congressman who messed with all the pages (Mark Foley, R-FL) – his thing was I apologize but alcohol made me do it. Or something like that. I don’t keep up with Britney Spears, but isn’t that becoming her M.O. as well?
I have to say I was moved to see what I perceived were sincere and deeply-felt apologies voiced, in late 2005 by Randy “Duke” Cunningham, the former congressman (R-San Diego) who took millions in bribes. Maybe I’m just gullible, but I got the idea he really meant it when he acknowledged “poor judgment” in his relationships with some of these defense contractor types.
Accountability in the public sector bugs me because it’s so squishy. It’s just not as easy to measure when a child has learned enough, when a family has been cared for enough, when economic development really begins to work enough. No bottom lines (well, rarely) in the public sector. No P & L, no balance sheet. It’s just squishy.
(That’s why “Measuring Success, Benchmarks for a Competitive Wisconsin” is such a great piece – it seeks to measure in meaningful ways, progress being made with squishy kinds of expectations in areas such as economic health, business climate, and workforce excellence in Wisconsin. The 2006 edition is just out, prepared by the research staff at the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance)
Accountability. It’s an equal-opportunity responsibility. Neither political party and neither gender does it overly well. Religious, non-religious, studied, not-so-studied. We surely all must demand it both of ourselves and then gently but firmly and consistently, demand it of others.
COMMENTS
Regarding squishy accountability, I'm always appalled by the rapid loss of knowledge of ordinary business practices when private sector leaders run for public office on the promise that they'll bring small-business efficiency to government.
In the private sector, if Manager Bob wants to create a new division or launch a new product, the boss will demand at least one spreadsheet to explain the expected costs, the risk of unanticipated costs, and an estimate of the return on investment. But if Mayor Bob wants to launch a new economic development effort, he'll happily do so without even a seat-of-the-pants calculation of the return on investment. No discussion of tipping points, no assessment of risks, no simple ROI on the costs versus the return.
If a city attracts another 1,000-person business, will we need another public school? Another sewage treatment plant? A widened road? Someday I'd love to hear an elected official say "I'm sorry that we spent $500,000 on economic development that didn't seem to have any measurable effect." Or "We spent $500,000 but added another $2 million in local growth costs, and added another business that doesn't pay State taxes."
John Foust (Wed Mar 07 10:11:12 2007)
Another example of the growing Legistocracy. Be it the Bushes, the Clinton's or their entourage,the cadres of bureaucrats who do nothing except cash the check, we are under the influence of their position. I rail at the minor public employee who use their position to remind you who's the boss. What ever happened here?
Richard Parins (Wed Mar 07 14:44:00 2007)
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