Son of a coal miner, he was a welder in wartime shipyards and a meat cutter in a coal company town when he won his seat in the House of Delegates in 1946; he campaigned in every hollow in the county, playing his fiddle and even going to the length of joining the Ku Klux Klan (which he quickly quit and has ever since regretted joining).

The Almanac makes it seem like Byrd joined the KKK innocently, at some campaign stop, like a politician might put on a stupid hat or jacket given to him by a host at a fundraiser, so as not to offend.

But Byrd didn't just join the KKK on a lark. He recruited 150 fellow Klan members and organized a chapter. He became the leader, the "Exalted Cyclops."

Byrd has spoken of his Klan past very little. In 1997, Byrd told young people, "Be sure you avoid the Ku Klux Klan. Don't get that albatross around your neck. Once you've made that mistake, you inhibit your operations in the political arena."

Sounds like the bad part of joining the KKK has nothing to do with its message of hatred, just the fact that it would weigh one down as one climbed the ladder of power.

In his new 770-page memoir, Robert C. Byrd: Child of the Appalachian Coalfields, Byrd writes, "My only explanation for the entire episode is that I was sorely afflicted with tunnel vision — a jejune and immature outlook — seeing only what I wanted to see because I thought the Klan could provide an outlet for my talents and ambitions."

Byrd wanted to be a big-shot and being an exalted bigot wasn't too high a price to pay. In his defense, Byrd says his Klan chapter never engaged in or preached violence. Really? That's nice. So, Senator, it was all just about never-to-be-realized hatred?

In a 2001 interview the Senator gave to Tony Snow, his continuing difficulty with race became painfully obvious. Snow brought up Byrd's KKK past and asked about race relations. In response, Byrd babbled:

I think . . . I just think . . . we talk so much about it we create somewhat of an illusion . . . uh . . . uh . . . I think we should try to have good will. My old Mom told me, "Robert, you can't go to heaven if you hate anybody." We practice that. There are white niggers. I've seen a lot of white niggers in my time . . . it you want to use that word. We all . . . we all just need to work together to make our country a better country. I'd just as soon quit talking about it so much.

Everyone knows that if Senator Byrd had an R by his name, instead if a D, he would have been ridden out of Congress and public life a long time ago. Appropriately. Yet, the former Exalted Cyclops has never provoked any trace of outrage from the media establishment, Democrats, or liberal civil rights groups.

The liberal MoveOn.org recently sent a letter to supporters urging them to contribute to Byrd's 2006 Senate campaign. The letter was signed by none other than Democratic Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, the Senate's only African American. Byrd has even been called "the conscience of the Senate" by some.

That about sums up the problem, without any levity at all.