Obama weighs in on Virginia's Confederate History Month

The christian Science Monitor reports via Yahoo! News that President Obama calls Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell's initial failure to acknowledge slavery in his initial proclamation of Confederate History Month, "unacceptable".

Virginia's bigot-in-chief prompted a national uproar when his proclamation left out any mention of slavery as a primary cause of the civil war.

Yahoo! News reports: "I don't think you can understand the Confederacy and the Civil War unless you understand slavery,'' said Mr. Obama, who sent a wreath, as presidents have done since Woodrow Wilson, to the Confederate Monument at Arlington National Cemetery last Memorial Day. (Moreover, first lady Michelle Obama is a descendant of Southern slaves.)

Weighing in on the subject is Mississippi Governor, former Republican National Committee chairman Haley Barbour, who defended McDonnell on CNN's "State of the Union".  When asked by host Candy Crowley if McDonnell’s resolution was a mistake, Barbour said, “I don’t think so.”

“I don’t know what you would say about slavery, but anybody that thinks that you have to explain to people that slavery is a bad thing–I think that goes without saying,” he said, adding “Maybe they should talk to my Democratic legislature, which has done the exactly same thing in Mississippi for years…I’m unaware of them being criticized for it.”
Responding to the criticism of McDonnell by the president, Barbour said: “It’s sort of feeling that it’s a nit, that it is not significant, it’s trying to make a big deal out of something that doesn’t amount to diddly,” he also said.

 Current RNC Chairman Michael Steele, an African-American, has remained silent on the subject. Steele is currently embroiled in a scandal of his own involving an evening at a West Hollywood S&M club for RNC donors, paid for with RNC funds.

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• Sunday Late Night: Sheriff Haley Barbour sez Criticism of Bob McDonnell a "nit" that "doesn't amount to diddly" (firedoglake.com)
• Bob McDonnell Gets Aid & Comfort From Fellow Confederacy Enthusiast Haley Barbour (oliverwillis.com)
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• Obama chides gov. for slavery omission (cnn.com)
• Both Mississippi And Georgia Have Confederate History Proclamations Without Any Mention of Slavery (thinkprogress.org)
• Jon Meacham: Bob McDonnell's Confederate History Proclamation Is Part Of Conservative Tradition Of Refighting The Civil War (huffingtonpost.com)
• Obama: Omission of slaves' history 'unacceptable' (sfgate.com)