Hold me now It's hard for me to say I'm sorry

Except it really isn't. Or at least, that is the way it seems to me.

In the last few days we've had Cameron and Brown apologising for having their photos taken at the Remembrance Day service. Now, call me stupid, but is that really so bad? Isn't this what happens with politicians? They get photographed at things? Surely there are worse crimes. And we've also had Katie Price apologising to the nation for the way she has been behaving for the past 7 months. I really don't care - it has nothing at all to do with me. Or anyone really, except her immediate family and friends. Why the rest of the nation?

Like when Bill Clinton apologised during the whole Monica Lewinsky scandal. My only problem with the whole thing was that he fibbed, because it was disappointing and gave his detractors even more ammunition against him. I didn't especially care whether he had been unfaithful. As far as I was concerned, it was a matter for him and his wife and perhaps daughter. It made no difference to whether he was a good president or not.

I don't often agree with Ann Widdicome, but at the height of the expenses furore, she summed it up rather aptly as having the potential of turning into a "my shirt is hairier than yours" competition. Spot on. Rather than stop to think about how maybe saying that something is "within the rules" is missing the point somewhat, even if technically true, the obsession seems to be with saying sorry. It's like a competition of who can be the most sorry. "I'm sorry". "No, I'm sorry". "Well, I'm sorrier". "No, sorry, you are wrong, I am the sorry one". It's even worse when you get one person apologising on behalf of hundreds of other people. "We're sorry, we know it is wrong....blah blah blah".

Don't get me wrong. There is a place for a sincere apology. When you've done something wrong, it is only right that you should apologise. But this mania for apologising now, well, it's all getting to be a bit too much and when it happens that often, it can begin to sound , dare I say, ever just a little bit fake. We seem to be a nation hooked on apologising. I find it all just a bit depressing.

Sorry.