When are people going to stop having to apologize to the public at large for stating an opinion?

I saw the news today about Gordon Brown, and there is a question already about how damaging will it be to him? It brings up something I’ve been thinking about recently, and this just takes the biscuit.
He really didn’t say anything wrong. He is certainly entitled to his opinion, and he said she was a bigot. So what? How is that a bad thing?
We keep hearing people over and over again having to apologize because their opinions offend someone. Am I the only person out here who thinks that it’s enough? Why should he not be able to call her a bigot? She was going on about immigration. Why does he have to apologize?
Would he earn more respect if he just up and said “Look, I called her a bigot and I stand by it. I’m entitled as anyone else to have an opinion. It wasn’t meant to be heard by the public, but just because it was does not mean I will retract it. I won’t. Anyone who disagrees with my opinion is entitled to, but I will not apologize.”
I’d get his back if he did this. Not that it matters, because I’m in America, but I would hold to it to any other politician who did the same. Is it just me?