BUSH APOLOGIZES

Bush used the s-word today: "sorry".

Mark your calendars.

Up until now, Bush has avoided the s-word like the plague. His use of it now is an implicit admission that the Iraq prisoner abuse/murder story is both very big and very damaging.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush told Jordan's King Abdullah on Thursday that he was sorry for the humiliation suffered by Iraqi prisoners and their families because of abusive American jailers.

"I told him I was sorry for the humiliation suffered by the Iraqi prisoners and the humiliation suffered by their families," the Republican president said during a Rose Garden appearance with the Jordanian monarch.

"I told him I was equally sorry that people that seen those pictures didn't understand the true nature and heart of America. I assured him that Americans like me didn't appreciate what we saw."

King Abdullah, who cancelled his White House visit two weeks ago when Bush backed the Sharon plan, sure walked into one here.

Again, credit where credit is due: Bush did the right thing here. Sure, it took some very pointed criticism of his non-apology yesterday to get it out of him, but he did it nonetheless.

Now if only he could go deliver the Iraqi prisoners some turkey...