Lanny Davis's Apology Is Not Accepted

A former counselor to President Bill Clinton, Lanny Davis did not, despite Imus's allegations, try to break into Monica Lewinsky's apartment and "get the dress out of there." He did, however, attend his fair share of White House functions, and explained what it can be like trying to get into an event like last week's state dinner.

"I've seen the kind of pressure that these guys face when there are large crowds of people, and a rain storm," he said, referring to the Secret Service. But that's no excuse for why two uninvited, wannabe reality stars slid through security and into the White House. So Davis blamed it on human error.

"You and I are both familiar with making mistakes, and with human error, it's not a matter of defending it," he said. "It's a matter of explaining the circumstances of how it happened."

The atmosphere in both the White House and on the campaign trail, Davis explained, places incredible strain on Secret Service agents to let people through, get people in, and not cause a problem.

"I've even seen where Secret Service people are convinced by the political advance men to let people in who aren't on any list, and even to turn off the machines and the metal detectors," he said. "They shouldn't yield to that kind of pressure."

Back to the "mistakes" that Davis and, apparently, Imus have made...why bring that up and upset the I-Man, who, FYI, is busy battling cancer? Davis apologized effusively for introducing Imus to the equation.

"Your apology is not accepted," said Imus, who now wanted nothing more than to know what mistakes his guest had made. Turns out during his early days in the White House, Davis and his fellow counselors didn't always check facts before repeating information.

Coincidentally, Davis's specialty is now crisis management, so a discussion of Tiger Woods's recent incident seemed like a logical segue, but not one that Imus thought would lead to numerous book plugs for Davis's book, Truth To Tell: Tell it All, Tell it Early, and Tell it Yourself.

"If Tiger Woods has any personal issues he doesn't want to discuss in public, I respect that," said Davis. "But if he wants to put the story behind him...he's got to step up to the line."

Woods is under no legal obligation to talk about his minor "car accident" and possible domestic dispute in the wee hours of Friday morning, but Davis said that's even more of a reason to address the situation head-on.

"The only way to end the story is to hold a press conference and say, 'I'll answer every question you have,'" he said, admitting he feels badly for Woods. "If he wants the torture to end...he would follow my advice and tell it all, tell it early, and tell it himself."

Unbelievable.

-Julie Kanfer