Casting lott

So might the highlights of Lott's public career:

• 1978: Leads fight to restore the citizenship of Confederacy president Jefferson Davis, lost when Davis bolted the Union.

• 1980: Salivating all over Thurmond at a Reagan rally, Lott says, "You know, if we had elected that man 30 years ago, we wouldn't be in the mess we are today."

• 1981: Fights to keep Bob Jones University tax-exempt, saying, "Racial discrimination does not always violate public policy."

• 1982: Votes not to extend the Voting Rights Act.

• 1982: Attends Mississippi White Citizens Council banquet as a guest of honor.

• 1983: Votes against national Martin Luther King holiday.

• 1984: Tells Sons of Confederate Veterans that "the spirit of Jefferson Davis lives in the 1984 Republican platform."

• 1990: Votes against amendment to the Civil Rights Act banning workplace discrimination.

• 1991: Addresses Mississippi chapter of the Council of Concerned Citizens.

• 1992: Praises the council in keynote speech to its annual convention, saying, "The people in this room stand for the right principles and the right philosophy. Let's take it in the right direction and our children will be the beneficiaries."

• 1994: Votes to defund MLK Day commission.

• 1994: Attends a council banquet in his honor.

• 1995: Again addresses the council.

• 1990-98: Writes occasional column for the council's newspaper.

• 1997: Photographed with council leaders, who use his endorsement for

recruiting.

• 1998: Attends council banquet honoring him.

• 2002: Council Web site banners pic of smiling Lott under the headline, "A Lott of Courage," and tells members, "Lott Needs Your Support."

• 2002: At Thurmond's 100th birthday party, Lott declares: "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."

Additional reporting: Rebecca Winsor and Josh Saltzman