Didn't you know that the leader is not only the leader, but a well-established member of the Hair Club for Men?

Joking aside, I agree with you, Rosemary; I don't think he should step down. Refusing to step down will demonstrate some strength of character and a willingness to stand corrected and take it like a man instead of scouring off into the shadows with his tail between his legs.

I had no problem with Senator Lott's comments at the 100th birthday party celebration for retiring Senator Strom Thurmond. He did not endorse desgregation. He did not endorse race hatred. He did not endorse slavery. He did not endorse unequal rights for American citizens.

What he did do was celebrate the long, great life of a great American, who, even if the rest of this country hates him, has been continuously selected as a member of the US Senate by the voters of the state of South Carolina -- including large number of black Americans -- for more than half a century. I am certain that the members of his US Army unit who survived the D-Day invasion in 1944 and who also survived the decades since then also feel kindly toward the man who gave up a judgeship and went into mortal combat with them at the relatively advanced age of 42, winning well-deserved military decorations.

And if this man had been elected president 50 or more years ago, so what? Is racial integration any more advanced today than it was when he was preaching segregation? All that is integrated are the entertainment arts, televised sports, the US military, and -- above all -- virtually every prison in the United States. Every else you look, whites vote with their feet and leave whenever a sufficient number of blacks move into their neighborhoods or into their schools. I imagine houses of worship are just as color-coordinated now as they were in 1948.

Here in my own southern Wisconsin, the Republican Party of Dane County, of which I am secretary, supported a black conservative for the US Congress last month. But the Democrats around here, dominated by the views of leftwing Madison, preferred their white female homosexual to a black male conservative. Too bad, because Ron Greer is as good a man you could find, even if I support abortion rights and he does not.

The key point is the question about how long we are going to pander to the judgements of white-hating antisemites such as the reverends Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton? They have been elected to nothing and probably never shall hold public office. Indeed, Jackson's continual agitation on behalf of making the District of Columbia the 51st state is that he assumes he would then have one of two permanent black-held Senate seats.

Why should white southerners be compelled to scrape their souls as if to cleanse themselves of their own proud heritage? Why should citizens of any or all of the 11 former Confederate states not be permitted to fly the battle flags under which so many of their ancestors died for what they believed was their right to independence? If African-Americans are entitled to organize black caucuses in every legislature in the United States, why is it racist for European-Americans to organize white caucuses? Or white citizen councils?

And if this continual chipping away at the America's tradional culture does not cease, how long do any of you imagine it will be before whites begin regenerating their own racial consciousness and acting upon it?

Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI

Lott should step down. Not because he is a racist, or because he has painted himself as a racist, or even because he has made himself a target.

Lott should step down because he is incompetent to lead the Senate Majority.

He was incompetent before he stuck his foot in his mouth, now he is an incompetent who does not enjoy the full support of his party members. There was plenty of talk, right after the election, of selecting a new Majority Leader. Too bad that it was not followed up on at the time.

Trent Lott was not an effective majority leader the last time he was majority leader. I personally believe he was more effective as a minority leader than as a majority leader. Newt Gingrich is another good example. He was an effective minority whip. He could throw bricks at the opposition. He could motivate his troops to stand up against the Democrats who unfairly administered the U.S. House. Then Republicans elected Newt Speaker of the House.

His most positive traits vaporized. Newt used to be an excellent listener. He stopped listening. He vastly underutilized the best talents Republicans had in the House. He never utilized eloquent spokespeople, such as power couple Susan Molinari and John Paxon. Newt focused all the attention on himself in some personal mano y mano contest with Clinton, which he eventually lost. Then he resigned. Some people are just not cut out for leadership.

I do not believe Trent Lott is either. I am sure he is a good United States Senator; but he is a miserable majority leader. He never led on impeachment. He never led on tort reform. He never led on tobacco industry litigation. John Fund discusses why in today’s WSJ: http://www.opinionjournal.com/diary/?id=110002790.

Mr. Lott may very well have achieved his status in the Senate based on his talents as a deal-making tactician, not his ability to lead. If Mr. Lott is unable to effectively carry out President Bush’s agenda over the next two more years you just might know why.