The Columnist Wars

Paul Krugman's Oct. 10 NY Times column , "Lessons in Civility," is return fire across the editorial page at David Brooks' column, "The Presidency Wars," which I dissed in one of my Sept. 30 posts. Brooks' column was widely seen as a shot at Krugman, who has been one of Bush's most perceptive critics. Conservative columnists, after years of savaging Clinton, suddenly decided (Jan. 20, 2001) that the President must be treated with deference. These conservative columnists believe that liberal writers are being downright rude by not accepting whatever the Bush administration says at face value.