Without mentioning his name.
In recent days, The Washington Post and representatives of the Virginia Muslim community pushed the Governor-Elect to respond to Pat Robertson’s comments in the wake of the murders at Fort Hood that Islam was, in essence, “not a religion” but a “violent political system.”
Yesterday, the McDonnell camp issued a statement that Roz Helderman obtained noting that the “Governor-Elect has worked closely with Virginia’s Muslim community…. This community is an important and vital part of Virginia. He respects the Muslim faith and looks forward to working with the Virginia Muslim community in the years ahead. As Governor, he will work with Virginians of all faiths and backgrounds to leave the Commonwealth a better place than we have found it.”
What’s the bottom line?
McDonnell’s statement clearly distances himself from Robertson’s position, emphasizing that he respects the Muslim faith as a religion and focusing on McDonnell’s interest in working with Virginians of all faiths to improve the state.
At the same time, McDonnell focuses on the inclusiveness he intends to practice as Governor and not on the notions voiced by Robertson.
I’m not sure that his response will please everyone (especially those who want McDonnell to issue a “personal repudiation” of Robertson), but it will, in all likelihood, make good sense to many Virginians.
They’re far more interested in what McDonnell will do than what Robertson thinks.
And the Governor-Elect has left no doubt about what his position is and how he intends to act.
I actually think that this is a pretty good way for officials of all political stripes to handle the various “calls for repudiation” that are invariably made by their opponents whenever one of their allies says or does something stupid.
While I may agree that “calls for repudiation” can be tedious and that a politician need not always respond directly to calls for such, the governor-elect and Rev. Robertson aren’t just “allies.”
While Robertson knows his statements are going to stick to McDonnell like glue, it doesn’t look like he’s going to cut his protégé any slack.
So, McDonnell has a problem with Robertson that is not unlike the problem Obama had with Rev. Wright. When Wright refused to shut up, Obama took care of his problem.
He won’t repudiate the hand that has fed him in the past. i.e. McDonnell has taught at the Robertson School of Govt. at Regent University!