smeple:
njrick's explanation regarding fault versus "being in the chain of causation" brought to mind a remark apocryphally credited to Richard Nixon, though I am almost positive it was uttered by comedian Robert Klein, in a skit about Nixon's Watergate speech. Nixon/Klein said:"Let me be clear: as President, I take full responsibility. Full responsibility - but not the blame. Let me explain the difference. People who are to blame lose their jobs; people who are responsible, do not."
Well, I do remember Richard Nixon stating, in a nationally-televised address, that he accepted "responsibility" for the Watergate break-in and its subsequent cover-up, but--as various television commenters afterward noted--he clearly wasn't taking the "blame" for it. Instead, he vowed to the American people that he would discover and deal with those who were blameworthy.
Of course, that speech was also part of the cover-up, since Nixon was aware of the ongoing cover-up and indeed had participated in engineering it, plus he had authorized the creation of the 'plumbers' unit which had committed the break-in.
I'd consider Nixon to have been the sleaziest, most corrupt U.S. president in American history--I was thrilled when his reluctant resignation went into effect on August 9th, 1974...
--C.K.
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