It’s the best (or worst) of both possible worlds for Gov. McDonnell. First he gets the red meat out there for the Johnny Reb base; then he backpedals in order to seem moderate and inclusive. So he projects the proud neo-confederate image, but creates plausible deniability.

There’s almost always some electoral calculus in these matters, but here I’m not so sure. He can’t serve consecutive terms in VA, so this has nothing to do with the next election.

Is he thinking of running for Prez already? While this stance could conceivably help him in GOP primaries, I don’t think the establishment of the party wants to go in that direction; and none of this is a general election plus.