MIT professor Jonathan Gruber made a lengthy apology for his comments on the “stupidity of the American voter” and the “lack of transparency” during the passage of the Affordable Care Act during a House Oversight Committee hearingTuesday.
He called his comments, revealed in a series of videos, “glib, thoughts and sometimes downright insulting.”
“I would like to begin by apologizing sincerely for the offending comments that I have made,” Gruber said in his opening statement. “In some cases, I made uninformed and glib comments about the political process behind health care reform. I am not an expert on politics and my tone implied that I was, which is wrong.”
“In other cases, I simply made insulting and mean comments that are totally uncalled for in any situation. I sincerely apologize both for conjecturing with a tone of expertise and for doing so in such a disparaging fashion,” he continued. “It is never appropriate to try to make oneself seem more important or smarter by demeaning others. I knew better. I know better. I am embarrassed, and I am sorry.”
Gruber took pains to clarify that he was not an “architect” of Obamacare and stressed that he believed the law’s passage had been transparent. Throughout his statement, he sought to downplay the significance of his comments.
“The recent response to my comments at academic and other conference exceeds both their relevance and my role in federal health care reform,” Gruber said.”
