more input

it appears he DID apologize. i don't believe him though. i think he just realized there are a LOT more people in his state that were effected directly by SLAVERY than there are sons of the confederacy (or whatever they are known as). once again i am NOT saying the civil war isn't history. it IS and it is OUR history. the south was WRONG. period.

McPherson on slavery and Virginia's governor
By Valerie Strauss

Events have led me to ask renowed Civil War expert James McPherson for the second time in a few weeks for help in explaining what’s right and what’s wrong.

This time I asked him to tell me how historically accurate Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell was when he declared that April will be Confederate History Month in Virginia, did not include a reference to slavery in his proclamation and then said he left out the subject because "there were any number of aspects to that conflict between the states. Obviously, it involved slavery. It involved other issues. But I focused on the ones I thought were most significant for Virginia."

The governor late in the day issued an apology for not mentioning slavery in his initial announcement. This time he said in a statement, "The abomination of slavery divided our nation, deprived people of their God-given inalienable rights, and led to the Civil War. 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."..............

here's a link to mcdonnell's

full 'apology'

Virginia governor amends Confederate history proclamation to include slavery

By Anita Kumar

Washington Post Staff Writer

RICHMOND -- After a barrage of nationwide criticism for excluding slavery from his Confederate History Month proclamation, Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) on Wednesday conceded that it was "a major omission" and amended the document to acknowledge the state's complicated past.

A day earlier, McDonnell said he left out any reference to slavery in the original seven-paragraph proclamation because he wanted to include issues he thought were most "significant" to Virginia. He also said the document was designed to promote tourism in the state, which next year marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War.

However, Wednesday afternoon the governor issued a mea culpa for the document's exclusion of slavery. "The proclamation issued by this Office designating April as Confederate History Month contained a major omission," McDonnell said in a statement. "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.".....