During his campaign for Governor, Mississippi's Democratic Lieutenant Governor Paul Burney Johnson Jr. rarely stopped talking about race. "Either you believe in states' rights, home rule," he told one rural rally, "or you believe in turning over this state to a black minority." He got surefire belly laughs with his definition of the N.A.A.C.P. as a combine of "niggers, alligators, apes, coons and possums."
So, when Johnson was inaugurated last week as the state's 54th Governor, folks expected more of the same. They were surprised: Johnson's inaugural address was the epitome of moderation.
"You and I are part of this world, whether...
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