Sincerity counts.

According to ABC News, Hillary Clinton repeatedly refused to apologize for using a private email system while she was secretary of state. She told NBC and The Associated Press that mingling work and personal communications on one account had been a poor choice, which she regretted. But she didn’t apologize.

Eventually, she came around — sort of.

“As I look back at it now, even though it was allowed, I should have used two accounts,” Clinton told ABC News. “That was a mistake. I’m sorry about that. I take responsibility.”

Donald Trump apologized for his now-infamous “Access Hollywood” comments about women.

“I’ve never said I’m a perfect person, nor pretended to be someone that I’m not,” he said in a brief video statement last Friday. “I’ve said and done things I regret, and the words released today on this more than a decade-old video are one of them. Anyone who knows me knows these words don’t reflect who I am. I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize.”

The fresh paint on that apology hadn’t dried when Trump then added, “I’ve said some foolish things, but there’s a big difference between the words and actions of other people,” which led into his scathing criticism of Bill Clinton.

Both presidential candidates’ “apologies” were shallow at best.

Not so a local political club’s.

The Kootenai County Democratic Club, criticized Sunday in this space, stepped up to the microphone late Tuesday. The sincerity in its apology for mishandling a publicized debate rang true.

“While it is never pleasant to have one’s shortcomings put in the bright light of an editorial in the local newspaper, the Democratic Club recognizes that we made several mistakes and we appreciate the Coeur d’Alene Press for holding us accountable,” the club’s president wrote. “Transparency, accountability, fairness and honesty are among our core values and when we fail to live up to our own values, we welcome an honest appraisal of our performance. So, to The Press, thanks for helping us, and others who share these values, be better.

“We failed to meet minimal procedures in our invitation to Rep. Redman. We should have sent a follow-up inquiry rather than assume he did not intend to take part in the debate. We also should have been clear in our press release that Rep. Barbieri had already declined our invitation so that The Press was not put in the position of publishing something that was misleading.

“We apologize to Rep. Redman for failing to treat him with simple, basic fairness and we apologize to the Coeur d’Alene Press for our failure to provide complete and accurate information. Finally, we apologize to the public for making what should have been a simple process one that sours them even more on the political process.”

If you’re going to apologize for something, you’d better mean it.

Otherwise, you might as well run for president.