Va. official covers state seal breast

NORFOLK, Va., May 3 (UPI) -- The Virginia attorney general altered the state seal for lapel pins given to his staff by covering the exposed breast of Roman goddess Virtus.

The seal depicts the goddess, whose name means virtue, standing over a defeated male figure, Tyranny, while wearing a blue tunic over one shoulder with her right breast exposed. However, the pins Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli distributed to his staff cover the exposed breast with armor, The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot reported Monday.

Cuccinelli staff members said the official jokingly told them the alteration makes the seal less risque.

University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato said the altered seal is likely to make Cuccinelli a target of criticism.

"When you ask to be ridiculed, it usually happens. And it will happen here, nationally," he said. "This is classical art, for goodness' sake."

He compared the move to former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft draping sheets over partially nude statues at the Justice Department in 2002.

"Ashcroft had one excuse: It hadn't been done before and he wasn't prepared for the critical onslaught that he faced," Sabato said. "Cuccinelli has no excuse at all. He knows what's coming because of what happened to Ashcroft. You can only conclude that he enjoys being the center of pointless controversy."