Conciliatory aggression and the rhetoric of public apologies: A rhetorical analysis

Abstract This article provides a rhetorical analysis of a public apology that was issued by conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh in response to criticism of on-air comments that he made in February 2012. I argue that Limbaugh deployed his apology as a plea for moral exoneration, not as a formal admission of misconduct. Hence his apology was meant to absolve Limbaugh from blame by offsetting acknowledgements of wrongdoing (along with expressions of remorse) with an appeal to truth as a force for exculpation.