# Should politicians admit to being wrong? (Not an iraq question) **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 2, 2003, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-politicians-admit-to-being-wrong-not-an-iraq-question/199113 "2003-09-02T12:47:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bakhesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Bakhesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bakhesh)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-politicians-admit-to-being-wrong-not-an-iraq-question/199113/1 "2003-09-02T12:47:30Z")
I can’t remember any politician ever admitting to having made a mistake. Even when faced with an implacable truth that a decision had failed to achieve what it was supposed to, they spin there way out of it, and try to show that it was right in some way. Is this somekind of unwritten rule of politics? Do you have to try and feign omniscience to get elected? Would you be more or less likely to vote for a politician who admitted to having made mistakes before? ---
**Author:** ![stick\_monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@stick\_monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stick_monkey)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-politicians-admit-to-being-wrong-not-an-iraq-question/199113/2 "2003-09-02T16:40:49Z")
Should they? Yes. Will they? probably not. Why not? I don’t know. I personally would be more likely to vote for a guy that up front said, “I thought this was the right decision because of ‘X’, but it turns out I was wrong because of ‘Y’” rather than some guy who just changes the subject whenever something comes up. That would be the usual case anyway, except that there are certain things that I would find too morally reprehensible (genocide, baby-rape, corporate fraud, et cetera) to ever excuse as a simple mistake in logic or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Latro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a87d85/32.png) [@Latro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Latro)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-politicians-admit-to-being-wrong-not-an-iraq-question/199113/3 "2003-09-02T17:09:43Z")
Well, IMHO, the problem is that we (the people) want to elect people to lead us. We want leaders. What we end up choosing between is people who are good at **selling themselves** as leaders. Which is definitely not the same as being a good leader. You see the same thing in the management class that has come in to being. A great lot of managers know shit about anything and aren’t very good at actually running things. They just know how to paint a good picture of themselves. And, as in politics, that involves a lot of playing dirty, being quick to claim the credit but never ever taking responibility for something having gone wrong. ---
**Author:** ![j.c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@j.c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j.c)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-politicians-admit-to-being-wrong-not-an-iraq-question/199113/4 "2003-09-02T20:10:13Z")
Well said, **Latro**. Can I add that, in most cases, a person who admits being wrong (or even to having been mislead) does not gain a reputation for honesty but for being wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-politicians-admit-to-being-wrong-not-an-iraq-question/199113/5 "2003-09-02T21:17:54Z")
I can’t remember any poster on the SDMB ever admitting to having made a mistake. Even when faced with an implacable truth that a decision had failed to achieve what it was supposed to, they spin there way out of it, and try to show that it was right in some way. Is this somekind of unwritten rule of the SDMB? Do you have to try and feign omniscience to get attention? Would you be more or less likely to tolerate a poster who admitted to having made mistakes before? ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-politicians-admit-to-being-wrong-not-an-iraq-question/199113/6 "2003-09-03T14:02:47Z")
Uh, **Raven** , I could find you a few places in Great Debates where people have admitted that they’re wrong, or at least they concede points of their opponents’ arguments. ---
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-politicians-admit-to-being-wrong-not-an-iraq-question/199113/7 "2003-09-03T14:52:12Z")
You’ve obviously not been here very long, Raven. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-politicians-admit-to-being-wrong-not-an-iraq-question/199113/8 "2003-09-03T17:13:51Z")
Well, so much for a little tongue-in-cheek humor. There’s been a bunch of times that I’ve seen folks around here admit errors, and I can also name a bunch of times that politicians issued retractions or regretted votes. Let me just throw out a few: [Bush on visit to Bob Jones University](http://www.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/02/27/campaign.wrap/) [Lott apologizes for remarks](http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/12/13/1039656218298.html) [Former senator admits killing women and children in Vietnam](http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2001/04/26/national/main287964.shtml) [Committee chairman admits poor judgment in calling cops on House Dems](http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/photos/6369259.htm) Labeling only politicians as particularly unable to admit mistakes is more or less like the old saying, “I am strong-willed, you are inflexible, and he is pig-headed.” Not that this will change anyone’s mind. 😉