A while ago, I asked whether Strom Thurmond had conceded that he deserved to lose in 1948. According to this piece by Timothy Noah the answer is no. He says

The legend of Strom’s Remorse was invented, by common unspoken consent within the Beltway culture, in order to provide a plausible explanation why Thurmond should continue to hold power and command at least marginal respectability well past the time when history had condemned Thurmond’s most significant political contribution

. Noah suggests that Thurmond made a few token gestures like hiring black staff, and was promptly given a free pass by the bipartisan Establishment.