Va. Gov: Sorry I Omitted Slavery in Confederacy Celebration

Under fire from Democrats, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell apologized this afternoon to “any fellow Virginian who has been offended or disappointed” that he didn’t mention slavery yesterday when he announced that the state would celebrate Confederate History Month in April. “Slavery was an evil, vicious and inhumane practice which degraded human beings to property, and it has left a stain on the soul of this state and nation.”

The omission by McDonnell—a Republican who took office in January—comes on the heels of various moves by his administration many saw as anti-gay. The governor “appears determined to take Virginia backwards,” the director of the state Democratic party told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “The McDonnell Administration’s intolerant policies and pronouncements threaten to cost Virginia jobs.”
(More Bob McDonnell stories.)