Summary: <p>Like it or not, the race for 2020 has begun. Day by day the democratic field grows, with more and more presidential hopefuls throwing their hats into the ring. It’s a well-worn script. But there’s something else noticeably different this time around, the candidates are apologizing for past policy positions. This week on Politics with Amy Walter, the art of the political apology, who offers them, what makes them work and what happens when they fall flat. </p> <p>We start with <a href="https://twitter.com/jameshohmann">James Hohmann</a> of The Washington Post who was one of the first to notice that many of the Democratic presidential candidates are starting out their races with apologies. </p> <p><a href="https://twitter.com/stefcutter">Stephanie Cutter</a> is a Democratic strategist who worked on President Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign. She too has noticed all the apologies coming from the Democratic presidential candidates this election cycle.</p> <p><a href="https://twitter.com/RonBonjean">Ron Bonjean</a> is a Republican strategist. He has been a spokesperson for former Senate Republican Leader Trent Lott, and for former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert. His take is more critical of these apologies. </p> <p><a href="https://twitter.com/MarjorieIngall">Marjorie Ingall</a> is a writer and one of the founders of <a href="https://twitter.com/SorryWatch">Sorry Watch</a>, a site that analyzes public apologies.</p> <p>Of course, the other big story is the government shutdown. At this point, it’s hard to know if voters will care about it in 2020, or if anyone will take the blame and offer an apology. Amy spoke to two freshmen Democrats - from districts that flipped red to blue - about what they’ve been hearing.</p> <p>Congressman <a href="https://twitter.com/DelgadoforNY19">Antonio Delgado</a> represents New York’s 19th congressional district and Congressman <a href="https://twitter.com/RepGolden">Jared Golden</a>, represents Maine's 2nd congressional district. Both Golden and Delgado spoke of the need for Democrats and Republicans to find common ground.</p> <p>Amy's Final Take: Here’s my take on the raft of political apologies we’ve been hearing from 2020 Democrats. Democratic candidates running to catch up with where they think their base is.</p> <p>The most important question, of course, is how voters will respond. Do they punish those who strayed and reward the candidate who has been the most ideologically consistent? Or are they willing to forgive and move on? Trump was all over the map on policies and positions. That obviously didn’t prevent him from winning the nomination. As one Democratic strategist told me: Americans don’t care if you flip as long as you flip in their direction.</p> <p>Here’s the other thing. Voters are smart. And, perceptive. They don’t have the time to build elaborate spreadsheets that track candidate voting records and changes in policy positions. They mostly go with their gut. And, their heart. They can smell insincerity and calculation.</p>
