Bush finally decides to be offended
Republicans worried people will notice their party is full of racists

Bush apparently expects everyone to immediately forget that his previous comments regarding the whole "Trent Lott dances on the graves of lynching victims" business were less than condemning. For example, earlier in the week:

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Lott "has apologized for his statement, and the president understands that that is the final word from Senator Lott."

But now that Bush realizes that this sort of thing is bad PR and takes valuable time away from planning to use nuclear weapons on Iraq... he decides to be deeply offended:

President Bush on Thursday sharply rebuked incoming Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott for comments that some have called racist, saying any suggestion that segregation was acceptable is "offensive and it is wrong."

I love the "some have called racist," bit. Anyway, more:

"Recent comments by Sen. Lott do not reflect the spirit of our country," Bush said to loud applause. "He has apologized and rightly so. Every day that our nation was segregated was a day our nation was unfaithful to our founding ideals."

Kind of like every day that Bush remains in office is an offense to democratic ideals?

The president did not call for Lott to step down, but other conservatives say Lott must offer a fuller explanation of his comments, despite his apology... .The president's strong statement suggests that Lott has failed to quell the controversy over his comments, which some conservatives complain have opened the GOP to charges of racial bigotry.