Yesterday, when introducing former senator and ambassador Carol Mosely Braun, Sen. Tom Harken of Iowa betrayed himself and all 98 of his colleagues. For years, he said, they'd "had" to listen to the subtle racism of Sen. Jesse Helms. Then Mosely Braun arrived in the senate, like a breath of fresh air, and set Helms straight.

The fact that Harken could say the above without shame is disturbing, and is an excellent barometer of how our Congressional representatives deal with racism. Why did Harken believe they had to listen to Helms' racist rhetoric, and why did they have to wait for an African American to "straighten him out"? There were close to a hundred of them present, day in and day out, so why didn't they take care of the problem long before Mosely Braun arrived in the senate to be insulted by Helms?