Michael Phelps screwed up.  He doesn't deny it.  The question is, will his sponsors buy into his mea culpa?

I don't think his fans really care one way or the other.  For the younger ones, like my son who recently did a school project on Phelps, the story will likely not register.  And, the older ones, such as me, most probably will shrug and say, "We all make mistakes."

However, I just read an AP story that Phelps also plead guilty to a drunk driving charge in December 2004.

Is it more than "a mistake" and more likely a pattern?  Possibly.

Bottom line is Phelps is getting good PR advice.  He immediately admitted his mistake and confessed to "poor judgement."  Doing so, as any PR practitioner will tell you, allows him and his team to get in front of the story and - hopefully - make it go away.

Another high-profile apology - perhaps not AS important as Phelps' - was President Obama.  Regarding Tom Daschle, Obama was as blunt as possible.  "I think I screwed up."  Holy cow!  Talk about disarming your detractors!  Of course, we shouldn't be surprised.  Take a look at this site and you'll see eloquence in action.