The New Republic has finally found a reason to admit that giving bizarre creep Lee Siegel a weblog on its site was a mistake. This “apology“ is actually a “regret” below the headline, so I wonder how sorry Mr. Foer is really, but then, it must be hard to deal with image issues and circulation issues at the same time at a neocon magazine these days:

‘An Apology to Our Readers

After an investigation, The New Republic has determined that the comments in our Talkback section defending Lee Siegel’s articles and blog under the username “sprezzatura” were produced with Siegel’s participation. We deeply regret misleading our readers. Lee Siegel’s blog will no longer be published by TNR, and he has been suspended from writing for the magazine.

Franklin Foer
Editor, The New Republic’