Ron Paul (or his people, perhaps) were just using code to perpetuate the old racist canard that African Americans are lazy and shiftless. Paul has disavowed the ranting of the newsletter published under his name (just as he did when the subject came up in 2008) and his spokesman says that Paul didn’t write it and “disagrees with it totally.” That’s comforting. Sort of. It helps distance Paul from these lunatic scribblings, but it fails to answer the question of why he allowed them to be published in the first place. He and his admirers complain bitterly when he’s ignored, then protest when he’s scrutinized. Paul should answer for these writings.