Third and perhaps most important, public funds are susceptible to political pressures that may lead them to make disastrous decisions, as well as resist openly admitting mistakes they have made.

FORBES: Public Pension Shortfalls and Consultant Conflicts (September 1, 2002 )

The executive board, which isn't known for admitting mistakes, could have selected just one sport and recommended that the full IOC rubber-stamp its decision, but officials said selecting three finalists would allow for a fairer process.

WSJ: Olympics: Wrestling Survives��For Now

Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg resigned in March after admitting to "serious mistakes" in his 2006 legal dissertation, but denied cheating.

BBC: Germany's Guttenberg 'deliberately' plagiarised

Good for Apple for admitting and fixing its mistakes.

FORBES: Google, Chinese Researcher Find More iPhone Security Bugs Than Apple

Meanwhile, Wal-Mart has also announced that it is having a China rethink, admitting it had made mistakes in its haste to expand and saying that it has cut by one-half the amount of new square footage that it will add in the country.

FORBES: International Retailers Struggle In China

This is not an administration that is in the habit of admitting that it has made mistakes, so it's not surprising that, in this case, it is, in fact, moving ahead in the same way it has always done so.

NPR: Dangers of Pre-Emptive War Doctrine