Miss. Gov: Proclamation Slave Diss Is 'Diddly'

Mississippi's governor defended the omission of slavery from a Virgina Confederate History Month proclamation, saying the oversight meant "diddly." Asked on CNN if Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell's failure to mention slavery was a mistake, Republican Gov. Haley Barbour responded: "I don't think so. It's trying to make a big deal out of something that doesn't amount to diddly." He called the firestorm of controversy raised by the omission "just a nit." McDonnell has apologized for leaving slavery out of the proclamation.

The Democratic National Committee immediately issued a statement blasting Barbour for "defending the indefensible." To “say that the systematic condemnation of millions to bondage is ‘not significant,’ or that the tearing apart of families and the selling of human beings ‘doesn't amount to diddly’ is outrageous," said the statement.
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