... So you really don't want Chinese books with a bunch of crazy Chinese words in them." He later apologized. In 2009, McLeroy spoke at a board meeting using several quotes from scientists to discredit evolution. A biology teacher later found the quotes incomplete, out of context, and/or incorrectly taken from a creationist website. McLeroy said that while "some of the material was taken from the creationist site […] a lot of the quotes I did get on my own." McLeroy appeared on the Comedy Central program the Colbert Report in April 2012 wherein he said "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and when I looked at the evidence for evolution, I found it unconvincing so I don't think he used evolution to do it, that's my big deal." On May 28, 2009, McLeroy's nomination as board chair failed to gain state Senate approval. Only nineteen of the thirty-one state senators voted for him, two votes short of the 2/3 majority needed for approval. Gail Lowe became the new chair (since then Barbara Cargill), but McLeroy continued to dominate board meetings in what Russell Shorto described as "a single-handed display of arch-conservative political strong-arming." In an interview in October 2009, McLeroy explained his approach to public school history textbook evaluation: "... we are a Christian nation founded on Christian principles. The way I evaluate history textbooks is first I see how they cover Christianity and Israel. Then I see how they treat Ronald Reagan — he needs to get credit for saving the world from communism and for the good economy over the last twenty years because he lowered taxes." McLeroy also did an interview about the hearings and the documentary on The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe. References External links Videos of Don McLeroy's statements from National Center for Science Education Video of Don McLeroy being interviewed on ABC News from American Broadcasting Company 1946 births Living people American Christian creationists Intelligent design advocates School board members in Texas Texas Republicans American dentists People from Bryan, Texas Texas A&M University alumni United States Army officers American Christians Military personnel from Texas