Even as he celebrated his recent victory over Arizona Sen. John McCain in Virginia, Texas Gov. George W. Bush has had to take a political beating from some pundits for speaking at Bob Jones University.

Bob Jones University is a private Christian school in Greenville, S.C., that does not allow interracial dating and has expressed anti-Catholic sentiments.

The presidential candidate said in a Feb. 25 letter to Cardinal John O’Connor of New York that he “deeply regret[s]” not “being more clear in disassociating myself from anti-Catholic sentiments and racial prejudice.”

Local Catholic leaders said they will not hold the visit against Bush, but he should have used his speech to take a stronger stance against the prejudices that some people believe Bob Jones University represents.

“I think that Mr. Bush could have enhanced his position with many people in this country if he had used either that opportunity or another opportunity to make it clear where he stands on racial issues,” said Father Everett Hemann, priest at St. Thomas Aquinas Church and Catholic Student Center, 2210 Lincoln Way.

“It would have been very appropriate for him to have said something while he was there about their anti-Catholic bias and stands on racial issues,” Hemann said.

Hemann said he thinks Bush’s belated apology leaves questions in Americans’ minds about where the candidate stands on racial and Catholic prejudice.

“I think now he’s backpedaling — attempting to undue some self-inflicted damage,” Hemann said.

Lisa Sinnott, peer minister at St. Thomas, said she thought the apology was genuine.

“I think it was diplomatic of him to apologize like he did, realizing the extent of the things that were said [by leaders at Bob Jones University],” said Sinnott, junior in English.

However, Jim Hutter, associate professor of political science, said he also thinks the apology may be damage control.

“Bush has already apologized for going to Bob Jones after defending the trip — this signifies that he believes that this has hurt him,” he said. “I would concur with that.”

Although Hutter pointed out that Bush just last week said, “I don’t make any apologies for what I do in the campaign,” he said it was wise of the candidate to make an exception to that promise in this case.

“He’d have been a real fool not to recognize he made a mistake and owned up to it,” he said.

The Bob Jones flub will probably not hurt Bush seriously, though, Hutter said.

“I don’t think that the level of damage is so great that it is going to, in and of itself, cost him the nomination. It’s just one piece of the jigsaw puzzle that people see when they look at a presidential candidate,” he said. “I don’t think this is a death blow at all. It just isn’t one of his brightest moments.”

Hutter said the fact that Bush did not criticize the university while he was there is more consequential than that his visit.

“One of the important factors in this is that John McCain said he’d go to Bob Jones University, but when he got there, he told them off about various points. So it isn’t that George Bush went, … but that he was not criticizing them and seeking their support,” which may be “too close to agreeing with them,” Hutter said.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.