What is most telling in the article is that Trent Lott cannot look within himself to come up with the right words to say; he had to have staffers go to a black conservative to get the right words -- borrowed words, not words of personal conviction. THEN, when the right words were given, the staffers said Lott could not utter them. This shows how utterly clueless Trent Lott is. He needs to go, and quickly.
The article does not say Lott staffers came to Steele, just "people close to the Senator". However, staffers could reasonably be inferred. Given that, I initially had the same question. Why would they ask a black conservative professor and columnist? Then the answer came to me. I read that only one of about 65 staffers is black. If that statistic is true and with Mississippi about 38% black, it says volumes about Lott's contact (or lack of) with Blacks and understanding of Black problems, issues, aspirations, etc. I bet even ol' Strom had a higher percentage of African-Americans on his staff than Lott.
(BTW, agree this is one of the best essays on the subject I have seen and should be kept BUMPED.)