Mea culpa is a "foreign language" to many politicians, athletes, entertainers and other powerful individuals.  By foreign language I don't mean Latin.  I mean it involves a concept that is apparently foreign to many of them: genuine contrition"the state of feeling remorseful and penitent. synonyms:	remorse, remorsefulness, repentance, penitence, sorrow, sorrowfulness, regret, ruefulness, pangs of conscience"

When you're treated like you're really "special",  you can start to believe you're exempt to the rules of civility and decency which apply to "mere mortals",  Then, when you are caught "red-handed" or "blue-dressed" in your lies, you simply can't bring yourself to expose that, after all, you are fallable.  You can't abide the loss of your "special" status.  You first simply "deny, deny, deny"..then you "spin, spin, spin" to minimize..then you release a "non-apology" apology.  

Working w/delinquest kids I always asked "are you sorry for your action or for getting caught"?