best Krugman column in years - Gonzales gets a pass
Wayne Johnson
austin-ghetto-list@pairlist.net
Fri Jan 7 13:54:05 2005
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Truth is always stranger than fiction.
Who said that?
D'oh!
RB
----- Original Message -----=20
From: Michael Eisenstadt=20
To: austin-ghetto-list@pairlist.net ; Stewartreiner@aol.com=20
Sent: Friday, January 07, 2005 1:10 PM
Subject: best Krugman column in years - Gonzales gets a pass
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>Truth is always stranger than =
fiction.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Who said that?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>D'oh!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>RB</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=3Dltr=20
style=3D"PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV=20
style=3D"BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>=20
<A title=3Dmichaele@hotpop.com =
href=3D"mailto:michaele@hotpop.com">Michael=20
Eisenstadt</A> </DIV>
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A=20
title=3Daustin-ghetto-list@pairlist.net=20
=
href=3D"mailto:austin-ghetto-list@pairlist.net">austin-ghetto-list@pairli=
st.net</A>=20
; <A title=3DStewartreiner@aol.com=20
href=3D"mailto:Stewartreiner@aol.com">Stewartreiner@aol.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, January 07, 2005 =
1:10=20
PM</DIV>
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> best Krugman column in =
years -=20
Gonzales gets a pass</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2><!--StartFragment -->Worse Than=20
Fiction</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2><NYT_BYLINE version=3D"1.0" type=3D" =
"><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=20
src=3D"http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/dropcap/i.gif" width=3D11 =
align=3Dleft=20
border=3D0>'ve been thinking of writing a political novel. It will be =
a bad=20
novel because there won't be any nuance: the villains won't just =
espouse an=20
ideology I disagree with - they'll be hypocrites, cranks and =
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=20
an expensive gambling habit. A talk radio host who advocates harsh =
penalties=20
for 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=20
obsessions. One senator's diatribe against gay marriage will link it =
to "man=20
on dog" sex. Another will rant about the dangers of lesbians in high =
school=20
bathrooms.</P>
<P>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=20
and who stalked at least one of his ex-lovers.</P>
<P>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=20
story is too embarrassing even for a bad novel.</P>
<P>In my bad novel, apologists for the administration will charge =
foreign=20
policy 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."</P>
<P>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=20
complaints that the troops lack armor.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>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=20
the aisle. But 9/11 created an environment some liberals summarize =
with the=20
acronym Iokiyar: it's O.K. if you're a Republican.</P>
<P>The public became unwilling to believe bad things about those who =
claim to=20
be 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.</P>
<P>Apologists for the administration would like us to forget all about =
the=20
Kerik affair, but Bernard Kerik perfectly symbolizes the times we live =
in.=20
Like Rudolph Giuliani and, yes, President Bush, he wasn't a hero of =
9/11, but=20
he played one on TV. And like Mr. Giuliani, he was quick to cash in,=20
literally, on his undeserved reputation.</P>
<P>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=20
unusual these days among people who successfully pass themselves off =
as=20
patriots and defenders of moral values. Mr. Kerik must still be =
wondering why=20
he, unlike so many others, didn't get away with it. </P>
<P>And Alberto Gonzales must be hoping that senators don't bring up =
the=20
subject.</P>
<P>The principal objection to making Mr. Gonzales attorney general is =
that=20
doing so will tell the world that America thinks it's acceptable to =
torture=20
people. But his confirmation will also be a statement about =
ethics.</P>
<P>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.</P>
<P>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.) </P>
<P>Either way, when the Senate confirms Mr. Gonzales, it will mean =
that=20
Iokiyar remains in effect, that the basic rules of ethics don't apply =
to=20
people aligned with the ruling party. And reality will continue to be =
worse=20
than any fiction I could write. </P></BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></BODY></HTML>
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