[BillCompton]

If lot had said that Thurmond was a great man and his mentor, not problem. The problem is that he wished for a revised history that would have strengthened segregation. That's different.

[A2J]

The problem is that he wished for a revised history that would have strengthened segregation.

Please, tell me, where forced integration has prospered Americans in general and blacks in particular?

It anything, it has lead to urban blight and suburban expansion, i.e., natural segregation.

[GOPcapitalist]

The problem is that he wished for a revised history that would have strengthened segregation.

Nonsense. The context of the speech indicates indisputably that Lott was making light-hearted praise of Thurmond's long career of fighting big government. Thurmond was a segregationist in 1948, but Thurmond has also been a staunch conservative opponent of big government for entire gubernatorial and senate career. It would have been wrong for Lott to say that Thurmond was good for supporting segregation in 1948. But Lott did not do that. When considered in its context, Lott praised Thurmond for fighting big government, and no true conservative should have any problem with that.