In 1998, Bill Clinton offered apologies on behalf of “all of America” for crimes of the past. Clinton apologized on behalf of America for slavery and maltreatment of blacks. The Constitution grants the president certain powers of pardon and parole, but it does not make him the public confessor for the nation. In 2003, George W. Bush apologized for the American role in the slave trade, something also that transcended his role as president.
