History and Calumny

New York Times op-ed columnist in-fighting. This column by David Brooks, defending a 1980 campaign speech by Ronald Reagan in Philadelphia, Mississippi, is largely a response to fellow Times columnist Paul Krugman, who has repeatedly referred to this speech as indication of Reagan’s appeal to Southern racists. But Brooks never mentions Krugman specifically, because Times policy forbids columnists from arguing with each other in print. Brooks makes a decent case, but I suspect it reads awkwardly if you don’t know (a) that Krugman has referred to this speech several times; and (b) that Times policy prevents Brooks from saying so.

★ Friday, 9 November 2007