Bad puns from here on out. Andrew Sullivan spotted some reports that the Bush camp is, in fact, just about livid with Lott, his narrow views and his stubborn refusal to let them go. What puts me off a bit is to hear a few conservative thinkers moving off track a little bit; I love Limbaugh dearly and listen to him daily, but he's walking a fine line between a nominally relevant point and the fear of confrontation by obsessing over the hypocrisy of Democrats who are and will attempt to expand this mess into a partywide, political sledgehammer.
Republicans and conservatives will move backwards, still stuck in their liberal-supplied ghoul costume, if they publicly respond with a classic well-they-do-it-too equivocation. The Republicans don't need a Robert Byrd (Democrat, KKK recruiter, talks about "white n****rs); conservatives don't need a Jesse Jackson (liberal, referred to New York City as "H*mietown"). Let the other side engage in that nonsense.
And finally: neither Byrd nor Jackson are in power (or taken particularly seriously beyond their little microcosms). Pack your linen, Lott.