A socially conservative Christian group in Iowa has retracted language regarding slavery from a presidential candidates' pledge signed last week by Minnesota Republican Michele Bachmann. The original "marriage vow" from The Family Leader included a preamble with this reference to slavery: "Slavery had a disastrous impact on African-American families, yet sadly a child born into slavery in 1860 was more likely to be raised by his mother and father in a two-parent household than was an African-American baby born after the election of the USA?s first African-American President." Read by some as suggesting that black children born into slavery were better off than black children born into President Obama's America, the group took the language out. "After careful deliberation and wise insight and input from valued colleagues we deeply respect, we agree that the statement referencing children born into slavery can be misconstrued, and such misconstruction can detract from the core message of the Marriage Vow," read a statement put out by The Family Leader. Bachmann's campaign has disavowed that part of the vow.
