Faux claims of responsibility

Is there more to taking responsibility than merely mouthing the words?

Kathleen Sebelius is the latest example of someone mouthing the words, in this case for the failure of the Obamacare rollout. Of course, the most egregious example was Hillary Clinton, who mouthed the words, then followed up with, "At this point, what difference does it make?"

Betsy Newmark links to John Podhoretz, writing a column in the New York Post:

But in Barack Obama’s Washington, “taking responsibility” doesn’t mean what it means elsewhere.

When the officials who serve Obama say they are to be held accountable, what they actually mean is that they are willing to take the heat and absorb blame that might otherwise attach to the president himself.