Tripped Up By History

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Despite making four apologies by the end of the week, however, the incoming Senate leader had wounded not only himself but also his party's decade-long campaign to shed its reputation for thinly veiled race baiting. He soured the jubilant mood that has lifted Republicans since they recaptured control of the Senate in last month's elections--with Lott in control of its agenda. The controversy comes at a time when many Republicans had begun to believe that in George W. Bush they had found an inclusive messenger who could help them attract minority votes. And the damage among some white voters could be even greater: Lott may have tainted his party among educated suburban professionals and managers who are sympathetic to the G.O.P. on economic issues but are repulsed by any hint of coded appeals to prejudice. Senator John Ensign, a Nevada Republican, says of Lott's misstep, "It will take a lot of work for us to negate it."

If Lott didn't see the storm coming, it was in part because it was so slow in building. The papers did not make note of his comments until days after he had made them. But the stillness was broken by the hum of Internet "bloggers" who were posting their outrage and compiling rap sheets of Lott's earlier comments. It took a few more days before Democrats denounced Lott and demanded a censure. More worrisome, some conservative leaders who have never regarded Lott as an effective leader weighed in. Pundits like William Bennett called for Lott's ouster from the Republican leadership, and the Wall Street Journal editorial page declared he had "played right into the hands" of the left. Even Lott's hometown paper, whose publisher these days is an African-American woman, called for him to resign as Senate leader. Lott, however, was convinced that his written statements of regret were sufficient to put out the fire, and so he flew with his wife to the Florida Keys for a long-planned getaway.

The Washington Post story broke just as Lott was settling into a Key West vacation home (owned by his wife's sister and her husband, the famed trial lawyer Richard Scruggs) in which the principal connections to the outside world were a single phone line and a small television on the back porch. Back in Washington, the White House realized Lott was not going to be able to mop up his mess. President Bush, flying to Philadelphia for a speech, was agitated as he discussed Lott's comments and was determined to speak out against them. "This is going to be painful," he told aides on Air Force One. "But we have to do it. It's like lancing a boil." Lott, sources say, was stunned by the force of the President's rebuke. Appearing before a largely African-American audience in Philadelphia, Bush declared, "Recent comments by Senator Lott do not reflect the spirit of our country." He added, in a stern and emphatic tone, that the Senate leader's words on the segregated past were "offensive" and "wrong." Bush said he accepted Lott's apology and had his spokesman tell reporters that he was not calling for Lott to give up his leadership post. But the President's aides whispered to reporters that he never much liked Lott, even before this incident.