The fact you even have to say this makes me wonder if the people defending Lott's comments don't have some soul searching to do. Lott's remarks repulsed light colored people in the GOP as much as anyone else.
The problem is that those Germans did not apologize for their actions. Thurmons has apologized for his past for the last forty years. As for some "soul-searching," the last time I checked the color of my skin, it's brown.