Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) has quietly declared April 2010 Confederate History Month, bringing back a designation in Virginia that his two Democratic predecessors -- Mark Warner and Tim Kaine -- refused to do.
This is literally "two fifths forward, one fifth back"... I like the wryness of one comment at WaPo that suggested Michael Steele cut the ribbon... (He'd charge for it, though.)
The full proclamation signed by McDonnell can be read here.
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UPDATE 24 hours later:The heat was on McDonnell, especially heat from major financial backer and known black woman Sheila Johnson (who took half of the BET fortune with her when she divorced Bob Johnson). Apparently, her support for McDonnell didn't include proclamations about Confederate history that don't mention slavery:
"The complete omission of slavery from an official government document, which purports to be a call for Virginians to 'understand' and 'study' their history, is both academically flawed and personally offensive." More here about Johnson's statement.
As of late afternoon on April 7, McDonnell has issued his own variation on the boilerplate "near-apology since I got caught anyway":
"The failure to include any reference to slavery was a mistake, and for that I apologize to any fellow Virginian who has been offended or disappointed."
No, by all means don't just apologize.
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