Apologies should not be necessary, because the event thatcreated the need for an apology should have never happened in thefirst place – especially by individuals seeking to be the Presidentof the United States.

Sen. Hillary Clinton’s apology came to Sen. Tent Lott after hisinquiry into the truthfulness of comments she made in Iowa lastweekend. She told the Mississippi senator that she had not meant tooffend anybody.

Her comments came during an interview with the Des MoinesRegister where she expressed her shock when she learned Iowa andMississippi have never elected a women governor, senator or memberof congress. She went on to question how Iowa would want to berated with Mississippi.

“I think Iowa poses a special burden, or a special obstacle…because when you look at the numbers, how can Iowa be ranked withMississippi?,” she said.

For the record, two women have served as lieutenant governor ofMississippi – Evelyn Gandy and Amy Tuck. The lieutenant governor isconsidered the most powerful position in Mississippi government -overshadowing that of governor in ability to affect publicpolicy.

But putting her comments aside and ignoring the implied message,it is unfortunate that individuals who strive to lead this countryare willing to negatively reflect on one state or region in orderto gain traction in another. This country needs a national leaderthat wraps his or her arms around the whole country to build unity,especially at a time when unity in this country is at an all-timelow.

Part of Ronald Reagan’s success was making everyone feel secure.While everyone may not have agreed with his policies, the nation asa whole felt that “parental grasp” of reassurance that made himsuch a popular president.

This country is at a crossroads in its history where nationalunity is needed and the next president will hopefully be assuccessful as Reagan was in pulling everyone together.

Sen. Clinton’s unfortunate comments do not reflect that type ofability in her – one that provides the “warm-fuzzy” that isdesperately needed to again bond this country together as one.