A fulsome apology

CNN has posted the full text of Hilary Rosen’s apology (or should that be “apology”?). Here it is:

Let’s put the faux “war against stay at home moms” to rest once and for all. As a mom I know that raising children is the hardest job there is. As a pundit, I know my words on CNN last night were poorly chosen. In response to Mitt Romney on the campaign trail referring to his wife as a better person to answer questions about women than he is, I was discussing his lack of a record on the plight of women’s financial struggles. Here is my more fulsome view of the issues. As a partner in a firm full of women who work outside of the home as well as stay at home mothers, all with plenty of children, gender equality is not a talking point for me. It is an issue I live every day. I apologize to Ann Romney and anyone else who was offended. Let’s declare peace in this phony war and go back to focus on the substance.

If you look up the word “fulsome” in the dictionary, you will find something like this:

1. offensive to good taste, especially as being excessive; overdone or gross: fulsome praise that embarrassed her deeply; fulsome décor.

2. disgusting; sickening; repulsive: a table heaped with fulsome mounds of greasy foods.

3. excessively or insincerely lavish: fulsome admiration.

4. encompassing all aspects; comprehensive: a fulsome survey of the political situation in Central America.

5. abundant or copious.

Ms. Rosen’s use of the term “fulsome” harks back to the word’s archaic meaning, listed as fifth above. In its modern sense, I think it is the perfect adjective for Ms. Rosen’s “apology.”

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