best Krugman column in years - Gonzales gets a pass

Fri Jan 7 13:12:01 2005

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Worse Than Fiction

By PAUL KRUGMAN=20

    =20
've been thinking of writing a political novel. It will be a bad novel =
because there won't be any nuance: the villains won't just espouse an =
ideology I disagree with - they'll be hypocrites, cranks and scoundrels.

In my bad novel, a famous moralist who demanded national outrage over an =
affair and writes best-selling books about virtue will turn out to be =
hiding an expensive gambling habit. A talk radio host who advocates =
harsh penalties for drug violators will turn out to be hiding his own =
drug addiction.=20

In my bad novel, crusaders for moral values will be driven by strange =
obsessions. One senator's diatribe against gay marriage will link it to =
"man on dog" sex. Another will rant about the dangers of lesbians in =
high school bathrooms.

In my bad novel, the president will choose as head of homeland security =
a "good man" who turns out to have been the subject of an arrest =
warrant, who turned an apartment set aside for rescue workers into his =
personal love nest and who stalked at least one of his ex-lovers.

In my bad novel, a TV personality who claims to stand up for regular =
Americans against the elite will pay a large settlement in a sexual =
harassment case, in which he used his position of power to - on second =
thought, that story is too embarrassing even for a bad novel.

In my bad novel, apologists for the administration will charge foreign =
policy critics with anti-Semitism. But they will be silent when a =
prominent conservative declares that "Hollywood is controlled by secular =
Jews who hate Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular."

In my bad novel the administration will use the slogan "support the =
troops" to suppress criticism of its war policy. But it will ignore =
repeated complaints that the troops lack armor.

The secretary of defense - another "good man," according to the =
president - won't even bother signing letters to the families of =
soldiers killed in action.

Last but not least, in my bad novel the president, who portrays himself =
as the defender of good against evil, will preside over the widespread =
use of torture.

How did we find ourselves living in a bad novel? It was not ever thus. =
Hypocrites, cranks and scoundrels have always been with us, on both =
sides of the aisle. But 9/11 created an environment some liberals =
summarize with the acronym Iokiyar: it's O.K. if you're a Republican.

The public became unwilling to believe bad things about those who claim =
to be defending the nation against terrorism. And the hypocrites, cranks =
and scoundrels of the right, empowered by the public's credulity, have =
come out in unprecedented force.

Apologists for the administration would like us to forget all about the =
Kerik affair, but Bernard Kerik perfectly symbolizes the times we live =
in. Like Rudolph Giuliani and, yes, President Bush, he wasn't a hero of =
9/11, but he played one on TV. And like Mr. Giuliani, he was quick to =
cash in, literally, on his undeserved reputation.

Once the New York newspapers began digging, it became clear that Mr. =
Kerik is, professionally and personally, a real piece of work. But =
that's not unusual these days among people who successfully pass =
themselves off as patriots and defenders of moral values. Mr. Kerik must =
still be wondering why he, unlike so many others, didn't get away with =
it.=20

And Alberto Gonzales must be hoping that senators don't bring up the =
subject.

The principal objection to making Mr. Gonzales attorney general is that =
doing so will tell the world that America thinks it's acceptable to =
torture people. But his confirmation will also be a statement about =
ethics.

As White House counsel, Mr. Gonzales was charged with vetting Mr. Kerik. =
He must have realized what kind of man he was dealing with - yet he =
declared Mr. Kerik fit to oversee homeland security.

Did Mr. Gonzales defer to the wishes of a president who wanted Mr. Kerik =
anyway, or did he decide that his boss wouldn't want to know? (The =
Nelson Report, a respected newsletter, reports that Mr. Bush has made it =
clear to his subordinates that he doesn't want to hear bad news about =
Iraq.)=20

Either way, when the Senate confirms Mr. Gonzales, it will mean that =
Iokiyar remains in effect, that the basic rules of ethics don't apply to =
people aligned with the ruling party. And reality will continue to be =
worse than any fiction I could write.=20

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<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2><!--StartFragment -->Worse Than=20
Fiction</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2><NYT_BYLINE type=3D" " =
version=3D"1.0"><FONT=20
size=3D-1><STRONG>By <A title=3D"More Articles By Paul Krugman"=20
href=3D"http://www.nytimes.com/top/opinion/editorialsandoped/oped/columni=
sts/paulkrugman/index.html?inline=3Dnyt-per">PAUL=20
KRUGMAN</A> </STRONG></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV>
<TABLE cellSpacing=3D0 cellPadding=3D0 align=3Dright border=3D0>
  <TBODY>
  <TR>
    <TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></DIV><NYT_TEXT></NYT_TEXT>
<P><IMG height=3D33 alt=3DI =
src=3D"http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/dropcap/i.gif"=20
width=3D11 align=3Dleft border=3D0>'ve been thinking of writing a =
political novel. It=20
will be a bad novel because there won't be any nuance: the villains =
won't just=20
espouse an ideology I disagree with - they'll be hypocrites, cranks and=20
scoundrels.</P>
<P>In my bad novel, a famous moralist who demanded national outrage over =
an=20
affair and writes best-selling books about virtue will turn out to be =
hiding an=20
expensive gambling habit. A talk radio host who advocates harsh =
penalties for=20
drug violators will turn out to be hiding his own drug addiction. </P>
<P>In my bad novel, crusaders for moral values will be driven by strange =

obsessions. One senator's diatribe against gay marriage will link it to =
"man on=20
dog" sex. Another will rant about the dangers of lesbians in high school =

bathrooms.
In my bad novel, the president will choose as head of homeland =
security a=20
"good man" who turns out to have been the subject of an arrest warrant, =
who=20
turned an apartment set aside for rescue workers into his personal love =
nest and=20
who stalked at least one of his ex-lovers.
In my bad novel, a TV personality who claims to stand up for regular=20
Americans against the elite will pay a large settlement in a sexual =
harassment=20
case, in which he used his position of power to - on second thought, =
that story=20
is too embarrassing even for a bad novel.
In my bad novel, apologists for the administration will charge =
foreign policy=20
critics with anti-Semitism. But they will be silent when a prominent=20
conservative declares that "Hollywood is controlled by secular Jews who =
hate=20
Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular."
In my bad novel the administration will use the slogan "support the =
troops"=20
to suppress criticism of its war policy. But it will ignore repeated =
complaints=20
that the troops lack armor.
The secretary of defense - another "good man," according to the =
president -=20
won't even bother signing letters to the families of soldiers killed in=20
action.
Last but not least, in my bad novel the president, who portrays =
himself as=20
the defender of good against evil, will preside over the widespread use =
of=20
torture.
How did we find ourselves living in a bad novel? It was not ever =
thus.=20
Hypocrites, cranks and scoundrels have always been with us, on both =
sides of the=20
aisle. But 9/11 created an environment some liberals summarize with the =
acronym=20
Iokiyar: it's O.K. if you're a Republican.
The public became unwilling to believe bad things about those who =
claim to be=20
defending the nation against terrorism. And the hypocrites, cranks and=20
scoundrels of the right, empowered by the public's credulity, have come =
out in=20
unprecedented force.
Apologists for the administration would like us to forget all about =
the Kerik=20
affair, but Bernard Kerik perfectly symbolizes the times we live in. =
Like=20
Rudolph Giuliani and, yes, President Bush, he wasn't a hero of 9/11, but =
he=20
played one on TV. And like Mr. Giuliani, he was quick to cash in, =
literally, on=20
his undeserved reputation.
Once the New York newspapers began digging, it became clear that Mr. =
Kerik=20
is, professionally and personally, a real piece of work. But that's not =
unusual=20
these days among people who successfully pass themselves off as patriots =
and=20
defenders of moral values. Mr. Kerik must still be wondering why he, =
unlike so=20
many others, didn't get away with it. 
And Alberto Gonzales must be hoping that senators don't bring up the=20
subject.
The principal objection to making Mr. Gonzales attorney general is =
that doing=20
so will tell the world that America thinks it's acceptable to torture =
people.=20
But his confirmation will also be a statement about ethics.
As White House counsel, Mr. Gonzales was charged with vetting Mr. =
Kerik. He=20
must have realized what kind of man he was dealing with - yet he =
declared Mr.=20
Kerik fit to oversee homeland security.
Did Mr. Gonzales defer to the wishes of a president who wanted Mr. =
Kerik=20
anyway, or did he decide that his boss wouldn't want to know? (The =
Nelson=20
Report, a respected newsletter, reports that Mr. Bush has made it clear =
to his=20
subordinates that he doesn't want to hear bad news about Iraq.) 
Either way, when the Senate confirms Mr. Gonzales, it will mean that =
Iokiyar=20
remains in effect, that the basic rules of ethics don't apply to people =
aligned=20
with the ruling party. And reality will continue to be worse than any =
fiction I=20
could write. </BODY></HTML>

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