Also yesterday, President Bush delivered a public rebuke to incoming Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, saying his comments “did not reflect the spirit of our church.” A few days ago, Lott praised Senator Strom Thurmond. He said if Thurmond had won in his 1948 presidential campaign, “we wouldn’t have all these problems over all these years.” Thurmond campaigned on an anti-civil rights platform whose slogan was “segregation forever.” Criticism of Lott is escalating. For two days, the White House accepted Lott’s so-called apologies for how people “misinterpreted” his comments. White House spokesperson Ari Fleischer said Bush does not think Lott should resign.