Apologies

Barack Obama carelessly referred to a female reporter as "sweetie". He later called to apologize to the woman and admit it is a thoughtless habit he has and should be chastened for it.

I'm sure this will still lead some people to bash him, but that seems a remarkably candid admission of error, and it was an error. And how dare he make a mistake, but even more abominably that he admit one.

Meanwhile, laughably the Republican National Committee tries to make something of it:

“Women have come too far in this country to have a presidential candidate refer to them as ‘sweetie’ while they are working and carrying their professional responsibilities. Barack Obama’s comment is another example of his poor judgment and further proof of how out of touch he really is.”
- Jo Ann Davidson, the co-chair of the RNC

No response as of yet by Ms. Davidson of John McCain calling his wife a "cunt".