When a person does wrong to another person and then goes on to understand why what they did was wrong and thus openly acknowledge they were wrong, it is expected in the future that they will be as honest about future errors they make. For they have demonstrated the desire and ability to acknowledge and right their wrongs.
With politicians they almost never openly admit they were wrong, for they don't want to be held by the same future standard that all other people, for the most part, abide. For politicians it has little to do with being perceived as always being right. Instead, it is about avoiding having to show, via their actions, that they have demonstrated the desire and ability to acknowledge and right their wrongs. As often as they do make errors and wrong actions -- either out of ignorance or incompetence -- they desperately want to avoid being held to a standard of honesty and integrity in the future.
Simply put, once a person sincerely demonstrates the ability to be straight-forth, honest and respectful of integrity they have set a standard that others can expect from them in the future. Having done that, consider what transpires when the person later on creates a wrong but chooses not to hold true to his or her previously set standard of honesty and integrity. Onlookers see the person is being outright deceptive or dishonest.
In other words, once a person sets an honest standard for themselves they have to live up to it or the contradiction sticks out like a sore thumb. If and when that happens the person corrects that error. The fact is, most politicians, bureaucrats, media elite and academia elite shut down that very important aspect of character development. They avoid it all together. Else wise they wouldn't be able to look themselves in the mirror. Instead, to cover for their neglect they rely on ethical standards set by a governing body. But the standards set by a governing body, especially when it's bureaucrats setting ethical standards, they too have shut down that important aspect of their character development. Thus the ethical standards the governing body sets is all but void of what you and I and virtually every other person lives by -- the nature of conscious man.
That said, the government officials that are now in office, as well as their predecessors, are among the worst people to have high-ranking-government jobs. Not to mention that most of those jobs wouldn't have existed in the first place if people with a commitment to honesty and integrity ran the government -- people who do not neglect their character development.
Is it any wonder that so much weight is put on the character of a candidates seeking to win elections. The mainstream media is not unlike the politicians in that media elites have also chosen to neglect the same important aspect of character development as they become complicit in covering for their soul-mates in government. Ditto for the academia elite.
Even when politicians and bureaucrats admit they were wrong, in all but the rarest of instances it isn't until so much exposure of their wrong has been leaked out that they eventually admit they were wrong. That admittance of doing wrong has nothing to do with character development. Character development is voluntary and needs no prodding. Least wise not for adults. Prodding adolescents is a different issue and necessary at times. Come to think of it, most politicians and bureaucrats would fail an adolescent character test.
Around the world, governments are run by humanoids. Humanoids that have chosen to neglect their character development. They wield tremendous government power that has been usurped via failed characters -- deceiving the people/tax-payers they are supposed to be protecting. Each humanoid-politician and bureaucrat is several magnitudes more harmful than nearly any violent criminal of the day. They are not like you and I and every other person who lives naturally according to the nature of conscience man.
For more information on the above click 4, 20 and 26 from the thread titled: Threats to rule of law in America Walter Williams warns government meddling in private dealings
My son has just gone into the public skool system in 9th grade; he had to take "proficency" tests a couple of weeks ago. On parent/teacher night, I inquired with his English teacher about the "grading" of the writing portion of his test.
She told me that it is a mystery (to her and others on the staff) exactly how they are graded; it is after all somewhat subjective. She clued me in that compositions should not involve "guns, bombs, war, killing or hunting, and any reference to God."
What strikes me the most about that comment (meant with all good intention) is the fact that other than sports, these are the mainstay topics of the news, drama shows and video games. Saturate their brains with this information, but don't let them write about it...