I'm not sure I agree with the title of the latest Krugman column, "Behind Our Backs". Voters have known since 1980 that electing a Republican President means that the public is going to get an economic policy consisting of little more than shell games; the conservative mantra of "small government" and "low taxes" has always been a euphemism for a government by grifters. Is anyone surprised that having just prevailed in Iraq, we are now threatening another nasty dictatorship with a weak military? This isn't a situation where people were caught off-guard: Bush's political base in the Red States has wet dreams about fighting wars while simultaneously slashing veterans benefits.