When told of Ballenger's remarks, Rep. Mel Watt, a black Democrat from Charlotte, reacted philosophically.
"I suspect that whatever she's doing that's gnawing on him has to do more with what she's saying and how she's saying it than the fact that she's black," he said.
"I doubt it's her blackness that's annoying him, but it's probably that added factor that makes it intolerable to him, in a sense. I wonder if somebody white did and said the same thing that Cynthia McKinney is saying it would even become a part of his discussion."
As for Lott, Watt said "That's the Republicans' cross to bear."