What am I missing?

 

Texas State Representative Naomi Gonzalez was driving drunk last week. She crashed her BMW into another car, pushing it into a bicyclist. Though the driver of the other vehicle and the cyclist were taken to the hospital, fortunately, no one was seriously hurt.

 

Gonzalez made a public apology from the House floor early this week. Well, she sort of made an apology -- instead of saying, "My friends, I made the choice to drink too much and get behind the wheel of the car, and I am very ashamed of my inexcusable behavior," she said she "made a mistake."  No, Naomi, a mistake is something you do inadvertently. Deliberately drinking and driving isn't a mistake -- it's a choice. That being said, here's the part I really don't get: She received a standing ovation from her colleagues and flowers appeared on her desk -- for driving drunk and injuring two other people. Don't you think a "We appreciate your apology and it is accepted" would have sufficed? Heck, for standing ovations and bouquets, she might decide "making mistakes" is the way to go!

 

Oh -- and here's the kicker. Naomi serves on the House Ethics Committee.

 

"Lawmaker charged in DWI case tells House: 'I made a mistake.'" The Dallas Morning News; March 19, 2013; p. 3A.