Ed Schultz has apologized for his sexist and derogatory words towards Laura Ingraham. It was necessary that he apologized for using an insult that was vile and unprofessional. MSNBC also made the right decision to suspend Schultz. The scope of his apology was excellent only to Right Wing Radio host Laura Ingraham, but also to his family, his company and staff and his viewers.

It’s not easy to say you are sorry and saying sorry is a very important. A sincere apology is not only a token of empathy for those you have offended and a request for forgiveness it’s also a sincere admission of guilt and personal moral failure. As far as I can tell, it was a contrite and wholly appropriate apology. Ingraham accepted. Unfortunately, a headline like “Schultz apologizes to Ingraham for ‘vile insult'” is not informative enough for Media-ite.

Schultz has had some bombastic episodes lately. Instead of just being loud and argumentative, he has lost his temper quite a few time and that can be the stuff that wrecks careers. He may be frustrated with his ratings at MSNBC or the direction his career is going, but he can’t fix those things if he becomes a guy who devolves into insults and expletives when he catches a right wing talk show host being a hypocrite.

Schultz’s shows aren’t my favorite, but he is a guy who focuses on two important political issue niches: he prioritizes labor issues and (by way of having a viable liberal talk radio show) issues for older Americans. The effectiveness with which the GOP chipped away at collective bargaining rights, passed anti-immigration laws, voter ID laws, and convinced older Americans that the ACA meant no Medicare/Medicaid during the 2010 midterms shows that liberals are still lagging in their ability to sell Democratic candidates to older Americans and effectively advocate for labor interests. Ed tries to do that and let’s hope he returns and focuses on these issues with a lower propensity for bombast and antagonism. It hasn’t worn well on him.