a letter to Zhou Wenzhong, Chinese ambassador to the United States: "On behalf of CNN I'd like to apologize to the Chinese people for that. CNN has the highest respect for Chinese people around the world and we have no doubt that there was genuine offense felt by them over the Jack Cafferty commentary." CNN, however, denies that an apology to the Chinese government was ever made, stating that it was meant for the Chinese people alone. Sarah Palin On the September 26, 2008 edition of The Situation Room, Cafferty criticized Republican presidential candidate John McCain's vice presidential nominee, Alaska governor Sarah Palin after she did what he referred to as a "disastrous interview" with CBS news anchor Katie Couric when she could not clearly answer Couric's questions about the federal government's intervention into Wall Street. Cafferty went on to say that "if John McCain wins, this woman will be one 72 year old's heart beat away from becoming President of the United States, and if that doesn't scare the hell out of you, it should!" He went further to say that her interview with Couric was the most pathetic tape he had ever seen. When Wolf Blitzer came to Palin's defense, Cafferty snapped back indicating "there's no excuse for that, don't make excuses for her, that's pathetic!" Nancy Pelosi Cafferty has been outspokenly critical of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for failing to call for an impeachment against President Bush, calling her the "most awful" Speaker Congress has ever had. Cafferty sparked some national controversy among some liberal watchdog groups, particularly Media Matters for America during the January 12, 2010 broadcast of The Situation Room, in which Cafferty called her a "horrible woman" for refusing to disclose the precise cost of her trip to the Copenhagen Climate Summit, that Cafferty felt was a complete waste of tax payer money. Reckless driving incident Cafferty pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident and misdemeanor charges of reckless driving, assault and harassment after striking a cyclist and knocking him off his bike on May 14, 2003. The bicyclist was slightly injured. A traffic officer and several pedestrians ran after Cafferty's car, but he ran at least two red lights without stopping, according to a police complaint. Cafferty was sentenced to a $250 fine and 70 hours of community service. Personal life Cafferty was born in Chicago. He is a recovering alcoholic,