The election was in May. On October 24 Clegg told an interviewer that he “regretted” that that commitment had to be abandoned due to the country’s financial situation. There were violent protests. Clegg told another interviewer that he hated to make promises “you then find you can’t keep,” but “there are compromises in coalition.” That didn’t settle things down.

Finally he issued a direct, full-scale apology on September 19, 2012. Then things got… satirical.

Here’s Clegg’s apology. One key line: “We made a pledge, we didn’t stick to it, and for that I am sorry.” He said they wouldn’t do it again.

People were so impressed by this video that they immediately began reposting it. With little changes. They added a sobby soundtrack. They animated Clegg. They added Tiger Woods’ father musing mournfully. They subbed in Justin Bieber. They added clips of unconvincing “Sorry!”s from South Park.

The Guardian made a list of the top 5 parodies. The big favorite, so far, is the Auto-Tune remix.

I also like the subtitled version. Clegg: “That was a mistake.” Subtitle: “That was a lie.”

Clegg has now been forced to sit through the Auto-Tune version while on camera, bravely calling it “catchy,” and agreeing that proceeds from sales of that version as a single will go to charity.

Hilarity aside, the apology hasn’t won many hearts.

What’s wrong with Clegg’s apology? He did some things right. He explicitly acknowledged the technical nature of the offense and explicitly apologized. But his subject is himself and his party. He doesn’t talk about the impact of the actions.

He doesn’t talk about those who will pay increased fees, or forego education because the fees are higher. He doesn’t talk about why the promise was made if it seemed so impossible to keep. And he doesn’t talk about those who were induced to vote by a false promise

When John Edwards’ infidelity came out, people were outraged for many reasons. Not only on behalf of Elizabeth Edwards. What I remember most is the man who had taken a month of his life to go to Iowa and go from door to door to canvas for Edwards. He couldn’t forget that he’d told all those people, ‘You should vote for Edwards because he’s the electable one.’ He couldn’t forget that Edwards had made him a liar. The betrayal of trust was personal.

People may jeer, “You believed a politician?” But how are we take an active part in political life without believing in some statements and some people? When politicians break their promises, they harm not only themselves, and not only their parties, but the whole public process.

I’m not a student in the UK, but I’m still angry about this. Bring on the satirical videos. Bring on the cruel caricatures. And by all means sign me up for the flash mob. I want to do the high kicks on “a pledge made with the best of intentions,” the pirouette on “for that I am sorry,” and the bitter bitter jazz hands on “There’s no easy way to say this.”