US President George W. Bush, in a stinging rebuke of a fellow Republican, said today it was offensive and wrong for Senate Republican leader Trent Lott to have said it would have been better if Senator Strom Thurmond, a segregationist, had won the U.S. presidency 1948.
"Any suggestion that a segregated past was acceptable or positive is offensive and it is wrong," Mr Bush said to loud and long applause in a speech about his faith-based agenda.
"Recent comments by Senator Lott do not reflect the spirit of our country," Mr Bush said, speaking forcefully and heatedly to a mixed-race crowd that gave him a standing ovation.
It was highly unusual criticism by Mr Bush of a fellow Republican, particularly at a time when Senator Lott is poised to become Senate majority leader after Republicans took control of the Senate in mid-term elections in November. But White House press secretary Mr Ari Fleischer said after the speech Mr Bush was not calling for Senator Lott to step aside as leader.
Senator Lott, a Mississippi Republican, has twice apologised for comments he made a week ago during a 100th birthday tribute to Senator Strom Thurmond, the South Carolina Republican who ran for president in 1948 trying to keep American divided between black and white. In 1948 most blacks in many southern US states, including Mississippi, were not allowed to vote.
Senior Senate Republican leadership aides said Senator Lott had no plans to step aside and believed he could survive politically despite Democratic demands he withdraw as Republican leader. Shortly after Bush's speech, Senator Lott's office on Capitol Hill produced a statement saying Mr Bush was right. The gaffe has been an embarrassment for Republicans as they try to attract minorities, who traditionally vote Democratic, and prepare to push their conservative agenda in the 108th Congress, which convenes January 7th.
In his off-the-cuff remarks last week, Senator Lott noted his own home state of Mississippi voted for Senator Thurmond in 1948.
"We're proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over the years," he said.
In a round of apologies, he admitted the comment could be seen as offensive and asked for forgiveness.
"I wanted to honor Strom Thurmond the man. It was certainly not intended to endorse the segregationist policies that he was advocating 54 years ago," Senator Lott said on the Sean Hannity Radio Show on WABC-AM in New York and simultaneously broadcast on Fox News Channel.
