From a June 21 press conference held by Mel Lastman, the mayor of Toronto. Two weeks earlier, before visiting Mombasa, Kenya, to promote Toronto’s bid to host the 2008 Olympics, Lastman told a reporter that he was “scared” to visit Mombasa because “I just see myself in a pot of boiling water with all these natives dancing around me.”

q: Mayor, do you think your comments hurt Toronto’s Olympic bid?

mel lastman: I am truly sorry, and I’m going to say it again: I’m sorry that my comments were inappropriate. And…