I doubt this weekend is the first time anyone has laid eyes on the racist picture published on Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s 1984 Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook page. Yet over the past few decades, the offensive photograph had not created any obstacles for the doctor-turned-civil servant as he pursued a career in pediatric neurology.
Now, with the photograph being hotly debated on cable news, many politicians, including those in his own political party, are suddenly calling for Northam’s resignation, arguing that he has surrendered his moral authority as a leader and tainted his ability to govern.