But I thought Lott didn't mean it when he said that "we wouldn't be having all these problems" if the Dixiecrats had won? He was just trying to flatter a very old man, and it came out wrong, that's all.
You better keep your spin straight. Otherwise, we might conclude that Lott and his apologists are going in for a bit of the old al-Taqiyah, don't you think?
You don't have to spin the truth. You do have to spin an innocent sentence into a racist comment though.