Lott's Move Leaves Miss. with Two Seats to Fill

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Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott pauses while speaking to the media after a meeting with President Bush at the White House, Oct. 2, 2007.

Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott pauses while speaking to the media after a meeting with President Bush at the White House, Oct. 2, 2007.

Trent Lott was reviled for his 2002 comments about Strom Thurmond. But he went on to accomplish something that few manage to do in Washington — redemption.

Republicans used the "experience" angle against a young John F. Kennedy in the 1960 campaign.

Thirty-three years ago today, a drunk Wilbur Mills — chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee — appeared on stage with stripper Fanne Foxe.

I don't know of anyone who saw it coming. Trent Lott, the junior senator from Mississippi who accomplished something rarely seen in Washington — redemption — announced this week that he was resigning his Senate seat, probably in the next couple of weeks, certainly by the end of the year.

Lott was riding high as Senate Republican Leader, having succeeded Bob Dole in 1996, until one fateful day in December 2002. That's when, at a party celebrating the 100th birthday of retiring Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-SC), Lott made this unfortunate remark:

"I want to say this about my state: When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. 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 all these years, either."

That line was either a throwaway sop to an old man, or a terribly insensitive remark that spoke of or at least suggested racial prejudice. Thurmond's 1948 third-party presidential bid was based on segregation, and while ol' Strom may have mellowed in the decades since, the comment opened up a wound that has yet to heal. The White House immediately distanced itself not only from the remark but Lott as well, maneuvering behind the scenes to dump Lott as GOP leader and replace him with Tennessee's Bill Frist. After about two weeks, in which he seemingly apologized for everything he had ever said in his life — he even appeared on Black Entertainment Television — Lott resigned his post. It was a startling comedown in what had been a remarkably successful year for the party, having regained the Senate majority in the previous month's elections. The betting was that Lott would not seek a fourth Senate term when it came due in 2006.

But then came Katrina, the storm that ravaged the Gulf Coast, and Lott decided to run again in order to help facilitate the recovery effort. He took 64 percent against feeble Democratic opposition last year, and then saw his improbable comeback continue with an upset one-vote victory over Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) to become GOP whip.

Lott says he wants to "spend more time with his family," a line that somehow keeps getting said in Washington despite the rolling of the eyes it always elicits. Perhaps he wants to make money, too. But now it opens up another Senate seat at a time when the Republican Party was already defending 22 of the 34 seats at stake.

And we still don't know when the special election will be held. Gov. Haley Barbour (R), who will soon appoint a successor to Lott, has said he wants the election to coincide with the November 2008 general election. Democrats insist that state law calls for a special election to be held within 90 days of when Lott leaves. They already have a few well-known potential candidates, such as former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove and ex-state Attorney General Mike Moore, and they would rather see the election take place before the appointed GOP senator — perhaps retiring Rep. Chip Pickering — builds up a year of experience as the incumbent. Either way it's still seen as a likely Republican win; no Democrat has won a Senate seat in Mississippi since John Stennis in 1982. And, for the record, the defeated GOP candidate that year was Haley Barbour.

If the special election is held in November of next year, it will coincide with another Mississippi Senate race: Republican Thad Cochran is expected to seek a sixth term and would be heavily favored. One other state is holding two Senate races in 2008: Wyoming. The term of incumbent Republican Mike Enzi is up, and GOP appointee John Barrasso will face the voters for the first time; he entered office earlier this year following the death of Sen. Craig Thomas (R).

Time for one question this week:

Q: A lot of ink has been spent on Barack Obama's inexperience. Fair enough. But why does no one talk about Mitt Romney's lack of experience? By my calculation, by January of 2009, Obama will have had 11 years in elected office, in the Illinois state Senate and the U.S. Senate. Romney had only four years as governor of Massachusetts. In any event, I have a question: Other than war heroes (Washington, Eisenhower), who is our most politically inexperienced president, if we judge by time in elective or Cabinet positions? — Andrew Beal, Wake Forest, N.C.

A: Most presidents had prior experience as governors or as members of the House or Senate or both; three even served as mayor. Here's a complete list, with their elected positions in parentheses:

Jefferson (G), Madison (H), Monroe (S,G), J.Q. Adams (S), Jackson (H,S), Van Buren (S,G), W.H. Harrison (H,S), Tyler (H,G,S), Polk (H,G), Fillmore (H), Pierce (H,S), Buchanan (H,S), Lincoln (H), A. Johnson (M,H,G,S), Hayes (H,G), Garfield (H), Cleveland (M,G), B. Harrison (S), McKinley (H,G), T. Roosevelt (G), Wilson (G), Harding (S), Coolidge (M,G), F.D. Roosevelt (G), Truman (S), Kennedy (H,S), L.B. Johnson (H,S), Nixon (HS), Ford (H), Carter (G), Reagan (G), G. Bush (H), Clinton (G), G.W. Bush (G).

(Key: G = governor, H = U.S. House, S = U.S. Senate, M = mayor)

Of those presidents who were not elected to those offices, several served in the military. In addition to the aforementioned Washington and Eisenhower, they include Taylor, Grant and Arthur. Grant was also secretary of war; Arthur was vice president, not to mention his appointment by President Grant as the collector of the Port of New York, an obvious steppingstone to the presidency.

In addition, Adams was minister to France and Great Britain, Taft was a judge and secretary of war, and Hoover was secretary of commerce.

But the question of "experience" has become widely debated on the Democratic side. The Hillary Clinton argument is that she has it and her chief rivals, Obama and John Edwards, do not. Obama's counter has long been that Clinton's experience was of little value when she voted to give President Bush the authority to go to war in Iraq in 2002, and besides, no one ever accused Vice President Dick Cheney and then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld of lacking in experience.

From the beginning, this has similarly been a topic that readers have weighed in on.

Gail Ginsberg of Oak Park, Ill., writes, "Many people still cite experience as a major obstacle to Barack Obama's presidential candidacy. By my assessment, John Edwards is far less experienced than Obama — just one Senate term for Edwards, as opposed to one Senate term plus years in the Illinois state legislature, as a community organizer and as a law school professor for Obama."

Marc DeFrancis of Arlington, Va.: "Deciding between Obama and Hillary leaves me torn. I think Hillary would be an effective president, but I am uneasy with the whole idea of White House dynasties. I was uncomfortable with the son a first President Bush occupying the White House, and for the same reason wonder how good it could be for our democracy for us to get used to this 'presidential legacy scholarship' for relatives of former presidents."

Elizabeth Truesdale-Witek of Appleton, Wis.: "It seems that you have overlooked Bill Richardson. Richardson has more depth and breadth of experience to deal with the issues facing our country today than all the Democratic and Republican candidates combined. He has experience as a member of Congress, energy secretary, U.N. ambassador and as governor of New Mexico. It is unfortunate that the beauty contest atmosphere in which our elections are conducted may not recognize these qualifications, but rather may lead to yet another compromise candidate. P.S. I have to confess that my heart is with Dennis Kucinich, but alas, the man does not seem electable. My head is voting for Richardson, who's simply got the broadest background."

Karen Montgomery of Bethlehem, Pa.: "Why the focus on Hillary as the Great White Hope, when she has the potential for being such a lightning rod? Both Joe Biden and Bill Richardson have great experience and are effective and reasonable leaders."

Andy Ballatine of Saco, Maine: "On the surface, Richardson seems to have a lot going for him: his political experience, coming from an important region of the country, being a governor (as opposed to being a senator), and being of Latino descent. So why isn't he making headway? Is there something questionable about him? Is he inarticulate, unable to raise funds, hiding a closet full of skeletons, not connected to the right people? I don't get it. Much as I admire Clinton, she has a lot of history that is tied to negative things (rightly or wrongly)."

Claire Cohen of Los Angeles: "There is a reason why every candidate acknowledges Joe Biden on the debate stage: he's the only one who makes sense. Making headlines with ridiculous appeals to the left is nice, I guess, but wouldn't it be nicer to have an adult as our nominee?"

TRIVIAL PURSUIT: So it looks like we will have a battle between two former governors for the Senate seat in Virginia that Republican John Warner is vacating. Jim Gilmore (R), he of a recently failed presidential bid, and Mark Warner (D), he of a recently discarded presidential exploratory effort, are the likely candidates in 2008. When was the last time two ex-governors squared off for a Senate seat? (Answer below).

PRIMARY COLORS: Last week's column presented the fall schedule for the presidential debates. Now that New Hampshire has finally officially announced the date for its primary, here's how the road to the nomination looks leading up to Feb. 5, which some 23-25 states will hold their contests:

Jan. 3 — Iowa caucus

Jan. 5 – Wyoming caucus (R)

Jan. 8 — New Hampshire primary

Jan. 15 — Michigan primary

Jan. 19 — Nevada caucus; South Carolina primary (R)

Jan. 26 — South Carolina primary (D)

Jan. 29 — Florida primary

Feb. 1 — Maine caucus (R)

ON THE CALENDAR:

Dec. 1 — Democratic Brown and Black Forum, North High School, Des Moines, Iowa.

Dec. 4 — Democratic candidate debate, Des Moines (NPR/Iowa Public Radio).

Dec. 9 — Republican candidate debate, Hispanic issues, University of Miami, Fla. (Univision).

Dec. 11 — Special congressional elections in VA 01 (to succeed the late Republican Jo Ann Davis) and OH 05 (to succeed the late Republican Paul Gillmor).

Dec. 12 — Republican candidate debate, Iowa (Des Moines Register).

Dec. 13 — Democratic candidate debate, Iowa (Des Moines Register).

Dec. 17 — Democratic candidate debate, Kennedy Library in Boston (CNN/Politico.com).

2 P.M. START FOR THE TOTN "JUNKIE" SEGMENT: Don't forget, the "Political Junkie" segment that has been heard every Wednesday on Talk of the Nation, NPR's live call-in program, has become (uh, oh) even longer, now starting at 2 p.m. ET and running 40 glorious minutes. The "expanded" Junkie segment will continue each week through next year's elections. Remember, if your local NPR station doesn't carry TOTN, you can hear the program on the Web.

WE CAN'T MAKE IT THERE: Ken Gursky of Basking Ridge, N.J., a longtime fan of the Junkie segment, wants to know why he can no longer hear TOTN in the New York City area. The disappointing news is that WNYE (91.5) has dropped the program, along with News and Notes, Tell Me More, and Day to Day. It's pretty hard to imagine a city that may have room for two (Clinton, Giuliani), if not three (plus Bloomberg) candidates competing for president, but no room for the "Political Junkie" segment on TOTN.

IT'S ALL POLITICS: That's the name of our weekly political podcast. It's a combination of brilliant analysis and sophisticated humor, hosted each week by NPR's Ron Elving and myself. It goes up on the Web site every Thursday and can be heard here.

TRIVIA ANSWER: Twice in 2000, former governors opposed each other in a Senate race. In Virginia, George Allen (R) ousted Sen. Chuck Robb (D). The Missouri Senate contest had incumbent Gov. Mel Carnahan (D) challenging GOP incumbent John Ashcroft. But Carnahan died in a plane crash shortly before the election, so when he was posthumously elected he was a former governor.

WE DON'T ENDORSE CANDIDATES: And we don't intend to. But then there's the issue of that baseball team from the Bronx. Here's what Rudy Giuliani said in Wednesday night's CNN/YouTube debate: "When I was mayor of New York City, the Yankees won four world championships. Since I've left being mayor of New York City, the Yankees have won none." That's fine, but the image of him appearing in Boston wearing a Red Sox cap during the World Series cannot go away. And here's what Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, responded with: "Like most Americans, we love our sports teams and hate the Yankees."

Meanwhile, Alex Rodriguez, that selfless third baseman of pinstripe fame, has won his third Most Valuable Player award, but he's never won it during a presidential election year. Here is a list of Yankee and Red Sox players who have won MVP awards the same calendar year as the race for the White House, a list you all have no doubt been waiting for:

Yankees (4): Thurman Munson, 1976 (Carter-Democrat); Roger Maris, 1960 (Kennedy-Democrat); Mickey Mantle, 1956 (Eisenhower-Republican); Lou Gehrig, 1936 (FDR-Democrat).

Red Sox (0).

******* Don't Forget: If you are sending in a question to be used in this column, please don't forget to include your city and state. *********

This day in political history: An apparently drunk House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Wilbur Mills (D-AR) appears on stage at a Boston strip joint with "entertainer" Fanne Foxe, less than two months after an incident in which the two were stopped by police in Washington's Tidal Basin at 2 a.m. and Foxe jumped into the Potomac River (Nov. 30, 1974).

NO COLUMN NEXT WEEK: I will be in Des Moines for NPR's Democratic candidate debate. Look for my can't-live-without blog entries on the NPR News Blog.

Got a question? Ask Ken Rudin: politicaljunkie@npr.org