[aristeides]

President Bush had ordered aides to say nothing for or against Lott.

So why did Colin Powell make his statement last week, I wonder. I find it hard to believe he would have made that statement without White House clearance.

[VRWC For Truth]

Once panicky conservatives had turned against Lott

Panicky? More like disgusted with Chester.

[TLBSHOW]

The Lott affair quickly burned off the remaining Republican glow from mid-term election victories, but its impact transcends that.
....
This is a giant problem that will get worst if Lott is not voted ML tomorrow.

[beckett]

With each passing year, Novak is more and more out of touch. His stance on the Lott affair shows he's really lost it.

[Nick Danger]

Democratic operatives dragged out the old chestnut of candidate Bush's 2000 visit to Bob Jones University, with spokesman Ari Fleischer harangued about it at Friday's White House briefing.

So the reporters at the White House are actually Democratic operatives? I mean, we all suspected as much, but for Novak to say this out loud is big.

To go with Olson and Pickering would raise accusations of "racism."

So what? They're going to howl about racism no matter what Bush does. It isn't going to stick. Bush is quite obviously not a racist, so they can howl all they want. It will just make them look like jerks.

Once panicky conservatives had turned against Lott

That is such BS. "Conservatives" had been gunning for Lott for a long time. He was widely seen as a spineless appeaser who made lousy, one-sided deals with Daschle that benefitted only Democrats. Most conservatives didn't "turn on" Lott, they pounced on him when he tripped; or they were genuinely offended by what he'd said. Still more piled on when he tried to save himself by turning into Al Sharpton.

One guy we now know does not lurk here: Robert Novak. He gets his opinions about what conservatives think by talking to William Kristol.

Republicans cannot be the nation's majority party today without the solid South, and Democrats want to build on the Lott fiasco to undermine that base.

Which they propose to do by characterizing White Southerners as closet racists? What the Hell kind of way is that to make friends? Novak has his head up on his butt on this one. This column is junk from top to bottom.