Admitting Mistakes
Sam J. Maglio · Character Lab Tips · 2021
This week, Joe Biden will raise his right hand to take the oath of office and become the 46th president of the United States. Two years ago, almost to the day, his hands gripped a podium while he made a confession. His earlier imposition of harsh penalties for crack cocaine possession, he lamented, “was a big mistake.” Some might have predicted this admission to be career-killing seppuku. Plenty of public officials, tagged as flip-floppers, have been condemned for a single offense. But as a presidential candidate, Biden instead made a habit of acknowledging the errors of his ways. How did he spin mistake-tainted straw into political gold?