The famous Marine drill instructor who created a stir last week when he said President Obama was trying to implement socialism has released a statement apologizing for those remarks.

R. Lee Ermey said today that his comments were “misguided” and “emotionally based” and for that he is “truly sorry.” His full statement, which is posted on his website as a splash page, is below:

A Message from the Gunny

“I recently appeared at a fundraising event designed to collect toys and raise awareness for underprivileged children. While that event succeeded in raising thousands of dollars and hundreds of toys for this cause, I regret that I delivered a monologue that was inappropriately critical of the President. I was trying to be entertaining and simply went too far in this instance. I am mindful that my success as an entertainer relates in part to my experience in the Marine Corps, my devotion to its members, and the deep respect I have for members of all our Armed Forces. My comments should not be seen as reflecting on them or their views. I was just very disappointed in the amount of success that we were having raising toys and money for the underprivileged children this season. The poor economy has greatly hampered our efforts. My comments were misguided, and emotionally based, and for that I am truly sorry.”

Semper Fi

Mediaite wonders if the apology is a move to appease the insurance company GEICO. As many know, Ermey has had a resurgence as a GEICO commercial star. But recently, another GEICO voice actor was fired for a foray into political talk:

A few months ago, GEICO fired voice actor Lance Baxter AKA D.C. Douglas for being critical of the Tea Party and Freedomworks. Not only did they fire him, they fired him for a political outburst on his own free time. Will they now fire Ermey?

That could be the reason. But some may just wonder if this is Ermey crossing into “mamby pamby land”: