[Ads-l] "distraction" -- the (not-so-)new euphemistic apology upon "resigning"?

[Cohen, Gerald Leonard]

The weasling apology in an art form. My two favorite ones are:
"I disappointed myself." (i.e., I'm a victim too).
"If I offended anyone, I apologize." ("If"? Hey, turkey, you did something outrageous, and so people are darn well offended.) 

G. Cohen 

________________________________________
 Joel S. Berson [Berson at ATT.NET],Saturday, February 28, 2015 11:57 AM, wrote: 

"<something unacceptable, but personal, in my past> has become a distraction".

Not disqualifying from office, not having the potential for conflict
of interest or for malfeasance, not hindering or handicapping the
performance of official duties -- merely "distracting".

Not new, but prompted by the resignation yesterday of Paul L.
Barrett, named only a couple of days earlier "to lead a high-profile
review of the beleagured MBTA" by Charlie Baker, newly-elected
Republican governor of Massachusetts and former ten-year CEO of
Harvard Pilgrim Health Care.  Who should, given that background, know
better how to vet.

Barrett said in a statement released by Baker's office, "I regret
that my personal financial issues have become a distraction and have
voluntarily offered my resignation to the governor."

The financial issues in question are unpaid federal income taxes of
nearly $200,000, "multiple state and federal tax liens, several
foreclosure notices on his Cohasset home, and a $1 million legal
judgment stemming from a Cape Cod real estate development that went sour.

One also wonders how "voluntary" the "resignation" was.

Quotations from
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/02/27/baker-point-man-mbta-review-resigns-amid-questions-about-his-finances/gVlrJwSNXaxtwdqC89hanJ/story.html

Joel
------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org