Politicians should avoid cultural references at all costs, and especially attempts at rock and roll hipness. It only demonstrates the break that must take place when you choose to leave the real world of sex, drugs and rock and roll that normal humans live in and enter the vapid shit-filled storm of politics:
Huntsman also defended name-dropping the late grunge rocker Kurt Cobain during the debate in reference to Mitt Romney’s book, No Apology. “That just sort of came to me,” Huntsman laughed. “You can’t say ‘no apologies’ on the 20th anniversary and not have Kurt Cobain come to mind.” (A 20th anniversary issue of Nevermind, an album by Cobain’s band, Nirvana, was just released.)
Yes, you can say “no apologies” and not think of Kurt Cobain. Why? Because the song is called “All Apologies.” When you are, as the song says, “all apologies,” that means you are very apologetic. That would be the opposite of having “no apology.” Does it sound like I am speaking to a young child? It’s kind of like the difference between a fair-minded liberal mindset (to a fault) and the hard-line conservative mindset (I am an asshole and proud of it!).
Also, the 20th anniversary of Nevermind does not contain the song “All Apologies.” It is, of course, from the (superior, in my opinion) album In Utero, from 1993. But other than that, I can see why the reference popped into Mr. Huntsman’s politician-addled brain: he’s a typically dim-witted Republican candidate for president trying to sound cool for the 10 people under 40 who might consider voting for him.