Afternoon Read: McDonnell Says Vice-Presidential Talk Is “Flattering”

On his monthly radio interview on WRVA in Richmond Thursday, Gov. McDonnell said that it is “flattering to be mentioned” as a possible vice presidential nominee, but that he is not “looking for it, asking for it, expecting it."

According to the RTD, McDonnell cited other Republicans such as Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio as potential Romney running mates.

"My plate is full," he said. "When you've got the same job held by Thomas Jefferson, it doesn't get much better than that."

* Metro’s Board of Directors unanimously approved an approximate fare hike of five percent Thursday. The basic peak fare will jump from $1.95 to $2.10, while the maximum peak fare will increase to $5.75. Read the full story here.

* The Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial Pages invited the Virginia candidates running for Senate to write for their pages. Today George Allen wrote about America making a “grand comeback”:

"Just as in Reagan's time, achieving an American Comeback won't be easy. But it's clear the stakes are too high not to try. It's also clear that political strife and gridlock can be set aside for the greater good. I know because I have done it before.

I was elected governor with a clear agenda of promises to Virginia -- and the Democrats were in control of the General Assembly. Despite our differences, we worked together to cut taxes on job-creating businesses, seniors and veterans; made neighborhoods safer with truth-in-sentencing; enacted historic welfare reform; froze college tuition; reduced the size of government; and created more than 300,000 net new private-sector jobs.

Sure, we had disagreements along the way. But, true to the spirit of this great nation, we joined forces to make Virginia a safer and more prosperous place to live, work, learn, invest and raise a family.

That's what Virginians and Americans are yearning for from Washington today. I truly believe we can work together in Washington to get America moving again with simpler, fairer, more competitive tax; reasonable regulation; productive energy and empowering education policies.

It's time for new leadership in Washington. It's time for America's Comeback."

* It looks like Virginia Tech’s graduation ceremony this May will be attended by a trio of political powerhouses. First lady Michelle Obama and Sen. Mark Warner are slated to speak at the graduation ceremony.

And according to the Washington Post, Gov. Bob McDonnell will be there not as a speaker, but as a parent. One of his five children, Rachel, will be graduating with a master’s degree in communication.

* Ward 8 Councilmember Marion Barry is blaming NBC4’s Tom Sherwood for the backlash he’s receiving for his comments against Asian businessmen in his Ward and Filipino nurses working in local hospitals, according to Washington City Paper.

WCP reports that Barry singled out Sherwood as the media’s most evil trapper.

Sherwood was the first reporter to run the clip of Barry criticizing Asian business owners at his victory party on election night, and Barry accuses the reporter of deliberately taking a small segment from his 20-minute speech and blowing it up to "make you all think that I was the biggest bigot in town.”

Sherwood's response: "As good a reporter as I am, Barry's words speak for themselves."

DCist reports that 28 local and national Asian-American advocacy groups launched a campaign yesterday asking Barry to apologize for comments he made about Filipino nurses working at local hospitals.

Via DCist:

"We are extremely disappointed and dismayed to be unfairly maligned by an elected official like D.C. Councilmember Marion Barry," wrote Marissa Usman, president of the Philippine Nurses Association of the Washington DC Metropolitan Region, in a letter announcing the campaign, which includes a petition asking that Barry apologize.

"For many decades, Filipino nurses have been recruited to serve not only in this country but all over the world because of our professionalism, competence and complete dedication to quality patient care. Filipino health care professionals have become a vital part of America’s health care system and we are proud of the work we do. We are committed to working together with other health care professionals to build strong, safe and healthy communities."

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