Lott: 'Hypocritical' or 'Sincere'?

The reaction ranged from "hypocritical" to "sincere."

Three prominent black journalists and civil rights officials watched a live feed of Sen. Trent Lott's appearance on Black Entertainment Television, and each had a different take.

After listening to the besieged Senator tell BET News anchor Ed Gordon that he supported affirmative action and would now vote for a Martin Luther King holiday, journalist Kevin Powell was not convinced: "Sen. Lott has never supported any of these issues. He's going to say what he has to say to keep his job."

Powell said he didn't believe Lott's apologies – he is now up to five. "Lott put his foot in his mouth. He's got to backpedal," said Powell, who called the Senator statements hypocritical.

But not all observers were as harsh. "He's sincerely sorry. He sincerely wants to make amends," said Niger Innis, spokesman for the Congress Of Racial Equality. But Innis added that he wasn't sure about the source of Lott's contrition: "Is he sorry that he committed the crime, or sorry that he was caught? I think it's a little of both."

Innis saw Lott's gaffe as an opportunity to further the civil rights agenda. Lott is now under pressure to show his civil rights colors. "We've got him in one heck of a spot. Hopefully he feels a political and moral imperative to do the right thing," Innis said.

"I believe that he knows he did wrong, that he misspoke," said Milton Little, vice president of the National Urban League. "I'm hopeful that he's changed."

During the interview, Lott said that was working to develop a multiracial plan, and that he wanted to find a way to make the controversy into a "positive."

Little said he hoped that Lott meant what he said. "We have to keep the pressure on him to make sure he does the things that he has promised."