Bush Could Take a Lesson From JetBlue

JetBlue admits it. They are sorry and embarrassed, but most of all, they are deeply sorry, so says the full-page ad in today's New York Times. After all, as the ad continues, JetBlue was founded on the promise of bringing humanity back to air travel and they admit failure on this promise.

While reading the apology for stranding customers following the ice storm here in the Northeast, I couldn't help but be impressed with the way the airline handled the situation. I wasn't one of those stranded, since I was in the comfort of my home, but I can understand the frustration that must have been expressed. Well, instead of placing the blame entirely on the weather, the airline has taken action and has begun putting a plan in place. That's when I began to fantasize about the President of the United States doing the same and apologizing to the country for his mistakes. Naturally, JetBlue is a business and does not want to lose money due to what occurred last week, which is different from how the White House responds to its errors.

Imagine, though, Bush taking out an ad, creating a Web site and going on television apologizing to the American people, as well as those beyond our borders, for having misled us into war, for not responding quicker when Katrina hit and for ignoring clear reasoning on just about every other issue. It's a fantasy, indeed, because unlike JetBlue whose performance will depend on its survival, the president's conduct does not depend on any such notion. It was very telling when the president recently told C-SPAN how he instructs Bush, Sr. not to pay attention to the criticism. That makes sense, since Bush, Jr. has been doing as much for years.