We failed you.

The buck finds a rest stop: "But just reading those words in newspaper reports made me think that the words of the former head of counterterrorism will go down as one of those defining moments in American public life, like the Army-McCarthy hearings' 'Have you no decency, sir, at long last' or the Watergate hearings' 'What did the president know and when did he know it?'"

Scott Rosenberg writes in his blog about Richard Clarke's testimony before the 9/11 commission yesterday in which he said the words that countless Americans have been waiting to hear: "Your government failed you, and I failed you. We tried hard, but that doesn't matter. We failed you." Powerful words, made even more powerful with the realization that such an apology has never and will never come from the current administration. If you are interested in this story, please read Salon's interview with Clarke, conducting the day before his testimony. I don't usually post political items, but Clarke's testimony was so stunning, especially coming through that crowd of finger-pointers, that I felt compelled to mention it. If it affected me so much, I can't imagine how it felt to the victim's families to hear those words. "I'm sorry." When genuine, those 2 words can heal many wounds.

If the 9/11 Commission achieves nothing else (and the chances are good that it will not), maybe Clarke's testimony will stand as one of those defining moments that Rosenberg talks about, and inspire others to take responsibility for their failures as well as their successes.

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