A helpful reminder from an unlikely quarter that the new national conversation on race isn’t so new. Presumably Obama himself would be cool to this idea, believing as he does that white grievances are a function of economic insecurity and, therefore, would likely be intensified by massive compulsory redistributions of wealth based on race. And indeed he was cool to it during his senate run in 2004. Might be worth checking again.

As for Crist, if he’s angling for the VP slot, this is a mighty interesting way to do it:

As a black senator openly wept, the Florida Senate issued an apology Wednesday morning for the state’s ”shameful” history in enslaving black people and passing laws that called for savage lashings and even the nailing of their ears to posts for crimes like burglary…

The resolution stops short of calling for reparations for descendants of slaves, though Republican Gov. Charlie Crist said after the vote that he was open to the idea “if we can determine descendancy, certainly.”

Exit question: Big winner — Chris Cox? I don’t know much about him and I’m skeptical that he’s going to put California in play, but “hardcore conservative” and “omnicompetent” do have a certain ring to them…

Update: Er, who’s Rob Portman?