This is not a lesson in crisis communications.

Well, maybe it is.

It's a "whatever you do, don't do this" kinda lesson.

From the Hartford Courant:

After nearly a week of criticism following revelations that he misrepresented his military record and five days after a press conference in which he expressed regret for his misstatements, Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Richard Blumenthal apologized.

“At times when I have sought to honor veterans, I have not been as clear or precise as I should have been about my service in the Marine Corps Reserves,” Blumenthal said in a statement emailed to the Courant late Sunday by his spokeswoman, Maura Downes. ”I have firmly and clearly expressed regret and taken responsibility for my words.

“I have made mistakes and I am sorry. I truly regret offending anyone,” Blumenthal said. “I will always champion the cause of Connecticut’s and our nation’s veterans.”

These exact words should have been said in front of cameras the evening the New York Times story first leaked.

Candidates need to be able to recognize when they are backed into a corner, and they need to recognize it fast.

Blumenthal didn't do that, and it may cost him the Senate.