MICKEY KAUS writes on why — and how — Lott must go:

Lott, in his flailing, destructive attempt at self-preservation, didn’t quite equate opposition to race preferences with racism. But he did equate support of race preferences with opposition to racism. That’s why, as someone who thinks race preferences do far more harm than good, I worry that it’s not quite enough for the Republican Senate to simply vote Lott out of his leadership positon with “a brief statement explaining what they did and why they did it.” A brief statement would have sufficed if Lott’s only sin were his Thurmond tribute. But his subsequent compensatory embrace of preferences needs to be repudiated also, in memorably strong terms. The most reliable way for that to be done is for President Bush to do it himself.

Yep. I understand why Bush has been reluctant to tread on the Senate’s toes. But it’s time for him to provide some adult supervision.