Paul Krugman writes:

The disconnect between G.D.P. growth and the economic fortunes of most American families can’t be dismissed as a normal occurrence. Wages and median family income often lag behind profits in the early stages of an economic expansion, but not this far behind, and not for so long. Nor, I should say, is there any easy way to place more than a small fraction of the blame on Bush administration policies. [emphasis mine] At this point the joylessness of the economic expansion for most Americans is a mystery.

Ross Douthat says “I don’t think any of us can possibly imagine just how much it must have pained Krugman to write that sentence . . .”

Maybe so. But if you look closely, Krugman says there’s no “easy” way to blame Bush. Does anyone doubt that Krugman will be rolling up his sleeves to do the hard and necesary work to blame Bush?

In fact, while I don’t have time (or the Times Select password) to wade through old Krugman columns, I do seem to recall that Krugman blamed Bush for all sorts of things in the past. Is it really fair or honest to blame Bush for all the previous chapters in the economic story and then, suddenly, say he’s not to blame for what’s going on in the current chapter?