THE MAN IN THE MIRROR. Northam Refuses to Resign: I Am Not in Photo, But I ‘Darkened My Face’ for Michael Jackson Costume at Dance Contest.

More here: “The surreal press conference was packed with twists: Northam provided a wild non-explanation for how the photo ended up on his page. He confessed to ‘darkening’ his face for the Texas dance contest. He gave a half-assed explanation of why his yearbook nickname was ‘Coonman.’ Later, when asked about the dance contest, he said he won because he learned how to moonwalk. He then made a joke about how hard it is to remove shoe polish from his face — but denied that qualified as blackface.”

Regarding that “half-assed explanation” of “Coonman,” Northam claimed, “My main nickname was Goose, because when my voice would change, it would change an octave. There were two individuals, as best I recollect. They were a year ahead of me, they called me — I don’t know their motives or intent. I know who they are. That was the extent of it. This ended up in the yearbook and I regret that.”

And we’ve entered the bargaining stage of Kubler-Ross: “‘I could spare myself from the difficult path that lies ahead. I could avoid an honest conversation about harmful actions from my past,’ he said. ‘I cannot in good conscience chose the path that would be easier for me in an effort to duck my responsibility to reconcile.’”

UPDATE: “‘My main nickname in high school and in college was ‘Goose.’ There were two individuals at VMI. They called me ‘Coonman.’ I regret that’ Ralph Northam says. How can you regret a nickname that you didn’t choose?”, Tyler O’Neil asks at the PJM Mothership, which is liveblogging the Northam fiasco.

ANOTHER UPDATE (FROM GLENN): This sounds plausible: