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It's amazing that this actually sounds like taking responsibility and apologizing to some people. Let's look at the actual words, though:
"To the extent that the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility."
There are at least three hedges in that one sentence. (Count them! It's a fun game!) It's the single most irresponsible taking of responsibility I've ever heard. It would be possible for him to back out of this statement entirely, simply by limiting the "extent to which the federal government didn't fully do its job right."
That's like saying, "I'm sorry if I hurt you." What's that "if" doing in there? That's no apology. Do you care so little that you actually don't know whether you hurt me or not? And you can just HEAR the unspoken "but...." in there. "I'm sorry if I punched you in the face, but you shouldn't have pissed me off like that!" It's funny, the sentence starts with "I'm sorry", but... where's the apology?
Say what you like about Clinton, at least when he admitted a mistake, he admitted the mistake. This guy's so buffered by yes-men he actually thinks he walks on water. This statement is clearly and transparently a PR move.
Here's what Bush could say that would have him actually be responsible for this mess: "Federal agencies under my direct authority failed to perform the duties that America expects of them. I personally take responsibility for that." If he said that or something clear and direct like that, I would (after picking my jaw up off the floor) applaud him wholeheartedly.
Unfortunately, statements like this can fool some of the people some of the time, but cause the rest of the people contribute to his plummetting approval rating--which I don't think, by the way, has hit bottom yet.
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