Still, even after Dr. Rice was given a softball toss to do so on 60 Minutes, the only official to take personal responsibility:

To the loved ones of the victims of 9/11, to them who are here in the room, to those who are watching on television, your government failed you," he said. "Those entrusted with protecting you failed you. And I failed you. We tried hard, but that doesn't matter, because we failed. And for that failure, I would ask, once all the facts are out, for your understanding and for your forgiveness.

-Richard Clarke, in opening statements before the 9/11 commission