as his treatment of Paul Krugman - and subsequent petulant and huffy “defenses” of same - show. There is no excuse for the hatchet job the coward did in his final column; a column where he libeled Krugman with no specific examples and runs away before giving anyone a chance to respond.

Typical, and what we’ve come to expect, but still cowardly nonetheless. Krugman’s pissed (as well he should be), and is pursuing this in every forum available, including, I believe, a live debate somewhere soon. Right now there’s an ongoing public email/forum exchange. Brad DeLong posts on the matter, including some responses to Okrent’s mendaciousness and simple wrongheadedness.

Not to mention the fact that Okrent has apparently been having long, loving exchanges with Donald “NRO whackjob” Luskin.

Our e-mail correspondence on Krugman totals almost 40,000 words (some of which was “off the record,” so I’m using my judgment here in determining what portions are fair to reveal now that Okrent’s tenure as “public editor” is over). Yes, I’m the one Okrent was talking about when he referred to “Krugman’s enemies.”

Okrent comes across pretty clearly as an unvarnished petty little asshole, and it’s not an unclear image there that he’s projecting.

|