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CNN Sunday Morning

Will Lott Be Forced to Step Down as Senate Majority Leader?

Aired December 15, 2002 - 08:02   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Shifting focus now to the controversy over GOP Senate leader Trent Lott's recent remarks that many saw as racially insensitive, a new "Time" magazine cover story delves into the uproar. In the article, "Whitewashing The Past," "Time" correspondents say Lott's recent comments seem less an isolated gaffe than a reflection of long held beliefs. The magazine reports the Mississippi senator appeared as recently as 1990 before a white supremacist group. "Time's" Web site reported Lott led the fight to keep his college fraternity all white and that he's voted against nearly every civil rights measure proposed in Congress.
The bigger issue, the magazine suggests, is whether the controversy over Lott will stymie GOP efforts to shed its race baiting image -- Charles.

CHARLES MOLINEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: The White House has already issued a blistering response, saying it does not approve of what Lott said, that he apologized, and rightly so, but not acceptable.

For more on the Bush administration's reaction to the uproar over Senator Lott, let's check in now with Senior White House Correspondent John King -- John.

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Charles, a very difficult one for the White House because President Bush has a lot at stake in this, not just in the question of whether or not Trent Lott survives as the Senate majority leader -- he's the Republican leader now, he would be the majority leader in January -- but much of the Bush legislative agenda, of course, has to get through that very evenly divided Senate and many Democrats believe controversial items like conservative judges who might get questioned about affirmative action, that all those questions, anything with even a tangential relationship to race relations, could become much more explosive an issue if Senator Trent Lott remains as the Republican leader.

Still, the official line here at the White House is that they do not believe Senator Lott should be forced to resign. Not, they are not enthusiastically saying they want him to stay as leader. They are saying they do not believe he should be forced to resign.

Many Republicans still questioning whether Senator Lott can survive this controversy. He did a news conference in Pascagoula, Mississippi, his hometown, on Friday, where he apologized. In an interview, as part of that "Time" magazine article, Senator Lott says, "I've said things and done things on race related issues that weren't intended to be hurtful, but that I now realize were hurtful." All this part of a campaign to save his job as the

Senate Republican leader. Many Lott deputies will be out on the Sunday talk shows this week trying to make the case that Senator Lott has apologized, that his comments are not a reflection of Senator Lott the person. This all an effort to try to survive this controversy. Many Democrats will be out, as well, saying this man is wounded, and some will say he should step aside as leader.

The White House calculation is to watch all this play out. If we are talking about this at the top of the newscasts this time next weekend you will have a much more pressing debate in the Republican Party as to whether or not Senator Lott should step aside.

Black Entertainment Television Monday night. Senior White House aides tell us privately Senator Lott has a few more days to see if he can put this behind him. Otherwise, many here will make the calculation that the president's agenda is at risk in all of this and that perhaps he should step aside -- Charles.

MOLINEAUX: So, John, at this point, though, it looks like we're going with what we've heard from the White House so far, he's apologized, we accept it, end of story?

KING: They don't say end of story. The White House is in a very difficult position. This is a president known for his loyalty. It is a president who desperately needs help in the Republican Senate because of the narrow -- it's a 51-49 split in the Senate. So, the White House does not want to be seen as pushing Trent Lott out and they do say here at the White House that people make mistakes.

But the more they learn about this, the more they go back and see the record, the more they see that Democrats are prepared, it seems, to make this a prolonged political controversy, the more they have to make the calculation here, they say. They simply say they have to. They have to start thinking can the president's agenda survive? Will this affect the president's legislative agenda? They say they don't have the definitive answers just yet. They want to give this a few more days. They want to see if Senator Lott can decisively put this behind him.

MOLINEAUX: OK, thank you, John King at the White House.

Coming up in our next hour, Julian Bond, NAACP chairman, and Senator Arlen Specter, will discuss the coverage and fallout from Senator Lott's remarks on CNN "Late Edition With Wolf Blitzer." That is coming up at noon Eastern, 9:00 a.m. Pacific.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




Leader?>


Aired December 15, 2002 - 08:02   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Shifting focus now to the controversy over GOP Senate leader Trent Lott's recent remarks that many saw as racially insensitive, a new "Time" magazine cover story delves into the uproar. In the article, "Whitewashing The Past," "Time" correspondents say Lott's recent comments seem less an isolated gaffe than a reflection of long held beliefs. The magazine reports the Mississippi senator appeared as recently as 1990 before a white supremacist group. "Time's" Web site reported Lott led the fight to keep his college fraternity all white and that he's voted against nearly every civil rights measure proposed in Congress.
The bigger issue, the magazine suggests, is whether the controversy over Lott will stymie GOP efforts to shed its race baiting image -- Charles.

CHARLES MOLINEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: The White House has already issued a blistering response, saying it does not approve of what Lott said, that he apologized, and rightly so, but not acceptable.

For more on the Bush administration's reaction to the uproar over Senator Lott, let's check in now with Senior White House Correspondent John King -- John.

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Charles, a very difficult one for the White House because President Bush has a lot at stake in this, not just in the question of whether or not Trent Lott survives as the Senate majority leader -- he's the Republican leader now, he would be the majority leader in January -- but much of the Bush legislative agenda, of course, has to get through that very evenly divided Senate and many Democrats believe controversial items like conservative judges who might get questioned about affirmative action, that all those questions, anything with even a tangential relationship to race relations, could become much more explosive an issue if Senator Trent Lott remains as the Republican leader.

Still, the official line here at the White House is that they do not believe Senator Lott should be forced to resign. Not, they are not enthusiastically saying they want him to stay as leader. They are saying they do not believe he should be forced to resign.

Many Republicans still questioning whether Senator Lott can survive this controversy. He did a news conference in Pascagoula, Mississippi, his hometown, on Friday, where he apologized. In an interview, as part of that "Time" magazine article, Senator Lott says, "I've said things and done things on race related issues that weren't intended to be hurtful, but that I now realize were hurtful." All this part of a campaign to save his job as the

Senate Republican leader. Many Lott deputies will be out on the Sunday talk shows this week trying to make the case that Senator Lott has apologized, that his comments are not a reflection of Senator Lott the person. This all an effort to try to survive this controversy. Many Democrats will be out, as well, saying this man is wounded, and some will say he should step aside as leader.

The White House calculation is to watch all this play out. If we are talking about this at the top of the newscasts this time next weekend you will have a much more pressing debate in the Republican Party as to whether or not Senator Lott should step aside.

Black Entertainment Television Monday night. Senior White House aides tell us privately Senator Lott has a few more days to see if he can put this behind him. Otherwise, many here will make the calculation that the president's agenda is at risk in all of this and that perhaps he should step aside -- Charles.

MOLINEAUX: So, John, at this point, though, it looks like we're going with what we've heard from the White House so far, he's apologized, we accept it, end of story?

KING: They don't say end of story. The White House is in a very difficult position. This is a president known for his loyalty. It is a president who desperately needs help in the Republican Senate because of the narrow -- it's a 51-49 split in the Senate. So, the White House does not want to be seen as pushing Trent Lott out and they do say here at the White House that people make mistakes.

But the more they learn about this, the more they go back and see the record, the more they see that Democrats are prepared, it seems, to make this a prolonged political controversy, the more they have to make the calculation here, they say. They simply say they have to. They have to start thinking can the president's agenda survive? Will this affect the president's legislative agenda? They say they don't have the definitive answers just yet. They want to give this a few more days. They want to see if Senator Lott can decisively put this behind him.

MOLINEAUX: OK, thank you, John King at the White House.

Coming up in our next hour, Julian Bond, NAACP chairman, and Senator Arlen Specter, will discuss the coverage and fallout from Senator Lott's remarks on CNN "Late Edition With Wolf Blitzer." That is coming up at noon Eastern, 9:00 a.m. Pacific.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




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