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CNN Saturday Morning News
Senator Trent Lott's Apology Draws Responses From Critics
Aired December 14, 2002 - 07:10 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.
ARTHEL NEVILLE, CNN ANCHOR: OK, returning now to the Trent Lott apology, what he said and what both critics and supporters heard.
For that, we turn now to CNN congressional correspondent Jonathan Karl.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JONATHAN KARL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Alternately contrite and defensive, Senator Lott sought to make it clear his praise of Strom Thurmond's 1948 segregationist presidential campaign does not mean he favors segregation.
SEN. TRENT LOTT (R-MS), MAJORITY LEADER: Segregation is a stain on our nation's soul. There is no other way to describe it. It represents one of the lowest moments in our nation's history, and we can never forget that.
KARL: He spoke of his personal experience in the segregated South.
LOTT: I lived through those troubled times in the South, and along with the South, I have learned from the mistakes of our past. I have asked and I'm asking for forbearance and forgiveness as I continue to learn from my own mistakes.
KARL: And he apologized yet again, for at least the third time this week. But as sorry as he says he is, resigning is out of the question.
LOTT: But, you know, I'm not about to resign for an accusation that I'm something that I'm not.
KARL: Despite the president's harsh rebuke of Lott on Thursday, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said, "Senator Lott was candid and forthright. He apologized again, and rightly so. I reiterate, the president does not think he needs to resign."
Lott's harshest critics were not satisfied, though, including the Congressional Black Caucus, which reaffirmed its call for a formal Senate censure, a move senior Democratic senators are seriously considering.
Lott drew praise from one of his conservative critics, but he said Lott still must go because he is a political liability for Republicans. ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS, CONSERVATIVE COMMENTATOR: I mean, he admitted that he was -- he had a blind spot. He admitted that. How many other blind spots does Senator Lott have? I forgive him, I applaud his speech. But he's a weak man. And he's prey to the Democrats. And they will eat him alive.
KARL: Most of Lott's Republican colleagues in the Senate responded with silence, and a few put out paper statements, including Olympia Snowe, who called Lott's latest statement "a significant first step," and John Warner, who said Lott "deserves a fair chance to prove his commitment to racial equality."
(on camera): Senator Lott has told his colleagues that if he is forced to resign as majority leader, he will also resign from the Senate altogether. Some Republicans see that as a threat, because if Senator Lott resigns from the Senate, his replacement would be named by Mississippi's governor, who is a Democrat.
Jonathan Karl, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired December 14, 2002 - 07:10 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ARTHEL NEVILLE, CNN ANCHOR: OK, returning now to the Trent Lott apology, what he said and what both critics and supporters heard.
For that, we turn now to CNN congressional correspondent Jonathan Karl.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JONATHAN KARL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Alternately contrite and defensive, Senator Lott sought to make it clear his praise of Strom Thurmond's 1948 segregationist presidential campaign does not mean he favors segregation.
SEN. TRENT LOTT (R-MS), MAJORITY LEADER: Segregation is a stain on our nation's soul. There is no other way to describe it. It represents one of the lowest moments in our nation's history, and we can never forget that.
KARL: He spoke of his personal experience in the segregated South.
LOTT: I lived through those troubled times in the South, and along with the South, I have learned from the mistakes of our past. I have asked and I'm asking for forbearance and forgiveness as I continue to learn from my own mistakes.
KARL: And he apologized yet again, for at least the third time this week. But as sorry as he says he is, resigning is out of the question.
LOTT: But, you know, I'm not about to resign for an accusation that I'm something that I'm not.
KARL: Despite the president's harsh rebuke of Lott on Thursday, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said, "Senator Lott was candid and forthright. He apologized again, and rightly so. I reiterate, the president does not think he needs to resign."
Lott's harshest critics were not satisfied, though, including the Congressional Black Caucus, which reaffirmed its call for a formal Senate censure, a move senior Democratic senators are seriously considering.
Lott drew praise from one of his conservative critics, but he said Lott still must go because he is a political liability for Republicans. ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS, CONSERVATIVE COMMENTATOR: I mean, he admitted that he was -- he had a blind spot. He admitted that. How many other blind spots does Senator Lott have? I forgive him, I applaud his speech. But he's a weak man. And he's prey to the Democrats. And they will eat him alive.
KARL: Most of Lott's Republican colleagues in the Senate responded with silence, and a few put out paper statements, including Olympia Snowe, who called Lott's latest statement "a significant first step," and John Warner, who said Lott "deserves a fair chance to prove his commitment to racial equality."
(on camera): Senator Lott has told his colleagues that if he is forced to resign as majority leader, he will also resign from the Senate altogether. Some Republicans see that as a threat, because if Senator Lott resigns from the Senate, his replacement would be named by Mississippi's governor, who is a Democrat.
Jonathan Karl, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
