MORE ON THE SUPERFICIAL-RACISM-SOLUTION FRONT

Four days a week, Salon has something worth reading that isn't a premium article. Bush's decision to renominate racist Pickering and nut Owen stems from his administration's logic on just about every issue or crisis that has come upon America in the past two years (yes, including that): Provide a high-profile but superficial solution to a deeper problem, then hope it fades from public consciousness. This was true with corporate corruption (arrest a couple guys without enacting any real reforms, and letting "Mister Lay" get off scot free), just as it was with investigations into 9/11 (finally turn around and support an independent commission, but appoint war criminal Henry Kissinger to lead it).

With Republican racism, the showy solution was to dump Trent Lott from the Republican senatorial leadership. But here, the problem is bigger. And with that in mind, here's today's Joe Conason.

Speaking of Joe, a busy man, check out his piece on the GOP's choice of New York for its 2004 convention.