I have more right to apologize for slavery than the government because the government can't feel bad or good about anything. The government is a cold collection of laws and big brick buildings. People live and work in the buildings. They frame and enforce the laws. But government itself can't apologize for anything.
People have to apologize.
And the people who should have apologized for slavery are the people who had slaves. Unfortunately, slave owners, at least the white American variety, are all dead. Nevertheless, in his endless quest to dance away from various scandals by making pointless calls for dialogue on every feel-good subject under the sun, Clinton has decided to put on his worry face and fret about whether the U.S. government should apologize for slavery. It makes him seem sensitive and caring. It made the Hawaiians feel good for a few minutes.