# Trent Lott is gonna be just fine **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 3, 2005, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott-is-gonna-be-just-fine/319842 "2005-09-03T02:38:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2005, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott-is-gonna-be-just-fine/319842/1 "2005-09-03T02:38:18Z")
If you’re like me, you probably spent all day wondering what the fate of Mississippi senator Trent Lott’s house was going to be. Never fear, though! We have confirmation that the man, if not the house, is gonna be [just fine](http://www.wonkette.com/politics//bush-sees-the-bright-side-123665.php). > [@George W. Bush](#): > > We got a lot of rebuilding to do… the good news is and it’s hard for some to see it now but out of this chaos is going to come a fantastic gulf coast… out of the rubbles of Trent Lott’s house – the guy lost his entire house – there’s going to be fantastic house. I look forward to sitting on the porch. PHEW! I can’t be the only one who was going to lose sleep over this. ---
**Author:** ![La\_Llorona](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@La\_Llorona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/La_Llorona)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2005, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott-is-gonna-be-just-fine/319842/2 "2005-09-03T02:47:14Z")
We can only pray that the cat herd is alive and well… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2005, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott-is-gonna-be-just-fine/319842/3 "2005-09-03T02:51:42Z")
Platitudes. That statement tipped my personal Bushometer from “mild dislike” to “hatred.” Trent Lott lost his whole fucking beach house. Ain’t that a goddamn tragedy? ---
**Author:** ![5que](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/3bc359/32.png) [@5que](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5que)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2005, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott-is-gonna-be-just-fine/319842/4 "2005-09-03T02:54:30Z")
I suspect he’s got another one stashed away somewhere, like near Washington, DC. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2005, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott-is-gonna-be-just-fine/319842/5 "2005-09-03T02:55:09Z")
Meh. The president, he’s not so good with the speaking of words. What he was trying to say was that the gulf coast would be rebuilt and be better than it was. He just sounded like an idiot. You expected different? ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2005, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott-is-gonna-be-just-fine/319842/6 "2005-09-03T03:08:23Z")
That was the most tone-deaf thing I’ve ever heard a politician say, and I remember Bill Weld and David Dinkins. FTR, Lott does have another home in Jackson, MS. The Times did a blurb on politicians who [lost their homes.](http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/02/national/nationalspecial/02congress.html) Some aren’t rich at all, of course, and many of them share apartments in DC. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2005, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott-is-gonna-be-just-fine/319842/7 "2005-09-03T03:08:29Z")
Of all the people Bush could have mentioned, he picked a doozy. The suffering and misery of thousands of black people are playing on American’s television sets, and he’s going to remind us how buddy-buddy he is with a suspected racist. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2005, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott-is-gonna-be-just-fine/319842/8 "2005-09-03T03:17:00Z")
Thank you Jesus! First He made a polio vaccine and now this! I can’t believe that they wasted shitloads of airtime showing a bunch of homeless black people that nobody gives a damn and not once did they show what everybody really cared about, which was Trent’s house. Did they say where we can send the donations to help Trent rebuild? In better news, I was glad that [Fats Domino was found alive](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/02/AR2005090202171.html), albeit homeless due to Katrina. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2005, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott-is-gonna-be-just-fine/319842/9 "2005-09-03T03:19:35Z")
Although R.L. Burnside died today (though not as a result of Katrina.) ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2005, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott-is-gonna-be-just-fine/319842/10 "2005-09-03T03:22:37Z")
Oh sure. Make light of this. The truth of the matter though is that it was a **really** nice house that Trent Lott lost. All the poor people just lost shitty tenements. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2005, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott-is-gonna-be-just-fine/319842/11 "2005-09-03T03:28:39Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > Although R.L. Burnside died today (though not as a result of Katrina.) [hijack]Yeah I saw that, and I literally have laughed on and off all night from a line in his [obituary](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/09/03/db0302.xml&sSheet=/portal/2005/09/03/ixportal.html). It’s what he said to an intruder he went to prison many years ago for fatally shooting: > [@R.L. Burnside](#): > > “I didn’t mean to kill nobody. I just meant to shoot the sonofabitch in the head. Him dying was between him and the Lord.” He sounds a lot like the artist Mose T from (me and Ogre’s old stomping grounds of) Montgomery in that he earned a fortune as an old man but stayed in his shack. Not quite as inspiring as [James Carter’s story](http://www.mustrad.org.uk/obrother.htm) or as Ruben Gonzales, but still cool. [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2005, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott-is-gonna-be-just-fine/319842/12 "2005-09-03T03:29:29Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Of all the people Bush could have mentioned, he picked a doozy. The suffering and misery of thousands of black people are playing on American’s television sets, and he’s going to remind us how buddy-buddy he is with a suspected racist. And the racist card is played. Have you ever thought maybe they are friends? Maybe Bush is grateful that his friend’s family is OK and they’ll rebuild? Have you considered maybe, every now and then, even a dreaded President can publicly mention a good word concerning another person? I suppose he should have read a list of everyone that survived and mentioned them as well. How dare he act like a regular person. How many people in MS have you talked to? What is their situation? I just can’t believe the President would mention the fate of a Senator. How dare he. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2005, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott-is-gonna-be-just-fine/319842/13 "2005-09-03T03:29:42Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > It’s what he said to an intruder he went to prison many years ago for fatally shooting: preview preview preview… It’s what he said _ABOUT_ an intruder (etc etc) ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2005, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott-is-gonna-be-just-fine/319842/14 "2005-09-03T03:29:51Z")
> [@Scylla](#): > > Oh sure. Make light of this. The truth of the matter though is that it was a **really** nice house that Trent Lott lost. > > All the poor people just lost shitty tenements. The sad thing is that I’m only about 85% sure that you are joking, **Scylla**. But it was an amusing joke. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2005, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott-is-gonna-be-just-fine/319842/15 "2005-09-03T03:38:31Z")
> [@duffer](#): > > And the racist card is played. Have you ever thought maybe they are friends? Maybe Bush is grateful that his friend’s family is OK and they’ll rebuild? Have you considered maybe, every now and then, even a dreaded President can publicly mention a good word concerning another person? Have you considered that Bush, a president who already has the (oh so readily deserved) image of always and invariably caring only about millionaires, being out of touch with America, hating gays and ignoring black people, is not just lamenting the loss suffered by a multimillionaire who has at least two houses and is fully insured, but one who hates gays (calls homosexuality an “addiction”) and praised as noble the presidential candidacy of a man whose main platform was enforced segregation? > [@](#): > > How many people in MS have you talked to? What is their situation? Including the 4 complete total strangers I’ve opened my apartment to because they’re homeless? Or the co-worker whose mother-in-law is missing? Or the student worker whose Air Force officer brother’s family is currently billeted in Alabama because their base is underwater? Or my employee from there whose brother has spent the last two days on a hover craft finding dead bodies and tying them by their ankles to trees or posts or other fixed points so that they don’t wash away before they can be identified? Or the refugees I helped find the telephone numbers of the relatives of their friends and neighbors so that they can call and find out if their friends and neighbors survived? Or the others that I helped log onto craigslist and other sites? Fuck yourself with a **W THE PRESIDENT** emblazoned 3 foot dildo. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2005, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott-is-gonna-be-just-fine/319842/16 "2005-09-03T03:40:36Z")
What is it with Bush and inappropriate plurals? > [@Mushmouth Bush](#): > > out of the **rubbles** of Trent Lott’s house I don’t know whether to make an “internets” joke or a Flintstones joke. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2005, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott-is-gonna-be-just-fine/319842/17 "2005-09-03T03:41:40Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > What is it with Bush and inappropriate plurals? > > I don’t know whether to make an “internets” joke or a Flintstones joke. Personally I think that if you look enough in Lott’s rubbles you’ll find some pretty fruity pebbles. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2005, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott-is-gonna-be-just-fine/319842/18 "2005-09-03T03:50:30Z")
> [@duffer](#): > > And the racist card is played. Have you ever thought maybe they are friends? Maybe Bush is grateful that his friend’s family is OK and they’ll rebuild? Have you considered maybe, every now and then, even a dreaded President can publicly mention a good word concerning another person? I suppose he should have read a list of everyone that survived and mentioned them as well. How dare he act like a regular person. How many people in MS have you talked to? What is their situation? > > I just can’t believe the President would mention the fate of a Senator. How dare he. :rolleyes: I have absolutely no doubt that Bush is friends with Lott. Probably calls him “Lottie” or “Trentie” or some cute shit like that. They probably hang out together at the Rich White Man’s Club every Friday. He’s more than welcome to worry about his friend and be grateful that he’s alright. But I’m sure that most Americans do not give a rat’s ass about Trent Lott’s beachfront property. Not when tens of thousands of people have lost their lives and millions of others probably feel like they might as well have. It was just an incredibly stupid thing to say at a time like this. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2005, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott-is-gonna-be-just-fine/319842/19 "2005-09-03T04:00:55Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > It was just an incredibly stupid thing to say at a time like this. I agree with you. I agree with you 100% But, if I grant for the sake of argument that Bush is evil and worthy of hate for so many things… I don’t think you can reasonably get generally mad at him about this. What it looks to me like he was trying to do was show that the devastation hit all kinds of people and that it was personal to him and his friends, too. By saying Trent’s Lott’s house was going to get rebuilt and that he would sit on the porch, he was trying to make a larger metaphor and saying that things would get fixed and repaired for everybody and things would be ok again. Since I think he was trying to offer a sense of familiarity, comfort, solidarity, and reassurance, I don’t think you can actually really be pissed. Since it came out as bad as it did, by all means ridicule it. I’m with you. At the same time though, I wonder. It’s such an obvious boner of a thing to say, and it came out so bad… that it’s almost kind of endearing. Anyway, it was a nice house and as an upper middle class white man I take comfort in knowing it’ll be rebuilt. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2005, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott-is-gonna-be-just-fine/319842/20 "2005-09-03T04:22:44Z")
> [@](#): > > It’s such an obvious boner of a thing to say, and it came out so bad… that it’s almost kind of endearing. No, it just makes him a giant boner. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trent-lott-is-gonna-be-just-fine/319842.md?page=2)