The legal view is that when you are involved in an incident wherein another person is injured, it is foolish to apologize to that person, particularly where any third party can hear it. An apology is usually considered a tacit admission of legal responsibility. That is separate and apart from the political ramifications of tacitly admitting guilt.
Based on Whittington's refusal to comment on whether Cheney apologized in private, I suggest the following alternative scenario: Cheney did apologize to Whittington in private, and at the same time wrote him a big check, part of the terms of the settlement being that the apology be kept confidential, because Cheney did not want to publicly admit his responsibility.
Cheney is a class A asshole, and I think the White House blaming the victim here was beneath comtempt. However, I wouldn't assume that Cheney didn't apologize in private, or feel bad about the incident.
- wolf
