Lott’s election as Minority Whip makes it a bit easier to see why Bush and Rove would want Mel Martinez as a face of the party. Think about the current congressional leadership lineup: McConnell, Lott, Boehner and Blunt (the last two, of course, pending).
Not only is that a lot of white men, but it’s also a cast heavy on bourbon and bonhomie; the sort of folks comfortable in a smoke-filled room.
Not that I’ve got anything against smoke-filled rooms (nor bourbon, bonhomie or white males, for that matter), but that may not be the best image to project for a party trying to get its mojo back among women, indpendents and suburbanites.