I'm Sorry: Political Apologies—PICTURES

Hank Williams Jr., the face of Monday Night Football, apologized after comparing President Obama to Adolf Hitler. Before the apology, ESPN pulled his musical introduction from the game after Williams said on Fox News that a golf game this summer between Obama and House Speaker John Boehner would be like "Hitler playing golf with Netanyahu." Williams said he was "very sorry if I offended anyone." (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Bernie Madoff carried out a scam that defrauded the clients of his financial services firm of $50 billion and for it he was sentenced to 150 years in June 2009. “I apologize to my victims. I will turn and face you. I am sorry. I know that doesn't help you. Your Honor, thank you for listening to me,” Madoff said in court as his trial ended. (Department of Justice)

Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford disappeared from his state to carry on an affair with a woman who lived in Argentina. Sanford was in Argentina for seven days, and his staff, after reporters began to ask where the governor had gone, said Sanford was hiking the Appalachian Trail. After returning from Argentina, Sanford apologized to his wife and his staff for the affair. (AP Photo/Virginia Postic)

In June 2009, Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., apologized to fellow Republican senators after he admitted to having an affair with a woman who was a family friend. Ensign resigned in May. (AP Photo/Oskar Garcia)

Possibly the most well-documented, if not also the most infamous, apology in recent American political history was Bill Clinton’s apology for misleading the public, prosecutors and his family about his affair with Monica Lewinsky. Despite his apology, the House of Representatives moved forward with articles of impeachment against the president. Clinton spoke about the affair at least eight times. On Aug. 17, 1998, he said, “I did have a relationship with Miss Lewinsky that was not appropriate. In fact, it was wrong. I misled people, including even my wife. I deeply regret that.” (DANIEL BAYER)

Republican Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho apologized after a bathroom scandal in 2007. Craig was arrested in a Minneapolis airport after police said he tried to engage in lewd conduct with an undercover officer in a bathroom stall. Craig then pleaded guilty to the charges, but later recanted saying that he bowed to pressure from an Idaho newspaper and that he was the victim of a witch hunt. Craig stepped down and apologized in September 2007. “I apologize for what I have caused,” Craig said, the Associated Press reported.