Krugman hits several targets in his latest column. 1. Trent Lott, of course. But this is almost perfunctory at this point and really doesn't need much further going into 2. The GOP, and George W. Bush, and their two-faced strategy of speaking about tolerance and diversity the the majority of Americans who believe in those things while, at the same time, feeding the cockroaches in their midst on the more substantial meat of leadership positions and judicial nominations. 3. And, finally, the media, for letting them get away with it. Of course, Krugman doesn't go so far as to outright accuse the media of shirking its duty. But he does slyly suggest it:

Still, pulling off a two-faced political strategy is tricky. What prevents reporters from explaining to the majority the coded messages that are being sent to the minority? Good question; I wish I knew the answer. But what's remarkable in the Lott affair is how much he has gotten away with over the years. How many readers ever heard about the flap, several years ago, over Mr. Lott's association with the racist Council of Conservative Citizens? The scandal was actually worse than his remarks last week — but it just got buried. And without the indefatigable efforts of Mr. Marshall and a few other Internet writers, Mr. Lott's recent celebration of segregation would probably have been buried as well. My guess is that the White House believes it has now done enough. Mr. Lott has received his slap on the wrist; now we can go back to business as usual. Bear in mind that while Mr. Bush has finally denounced Mr. Lott's remarks, he and his party benefit from the strategy that allows the likes of Mr. Lott to hold so much power. Let's not forget, in particular, the blatant attempts to discourage minority voting in South Dakota, Louisiana, Maryland and elsewhere. It's about time for those of us in the press to pay attention, and let this great, tolerant nation know what's really going on.

Of course, Howie and Tweety and the rest will simply respond with protestations of innocence at the subtle accusation in Krugman's column. It is questionable whether these whores actually have any semblance of shame left in their bodies. We shall see.