Opinion: Apology accepted --- at least by one Iowan

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The editorial board of the all-important Des Moines Register was among those to hear one of the mea culpas issued by Barack Obama Monday over a campaign memo that he agreed was offensive to Indian Americans. And his effort paid off, at least in the eyes of Register columnist Rekha Basu.

In her piece, Basu notes that she had called her parents in India on Father’s Day ‘and learned about the memo from them. It made the Indian papers and was angering Indians ... for its disparaging tone.’ Obama’s apology for the foulup, she writes, made him ‘seem real and flawed, just like the rest of us and - more importantly - willing to work on it. He had many more things of value to say Monday, but for that willingness alone, he’d already scored high in my book.’

Basu has worked for the newspaper since 1991 and, according to its website, ‘has a particular interest in human rights, civil liberties and hidden cultural messages.’

-- Don Frederick