New York Times columnist Paul Krugman wins Nobel Prize for Economics... by gimleteye

I'm certain Paul Krugman is the first regular New York Times columnist to win a Nobel Prize. I'd give him the Nobel Prize for humility and common sense, if I could. Krugman has been the steadiest critic of the failed policies of the Bush White House. It hasn't stopped the Republican base from attacking the "liberal, elite" media like The New York Times as the source of our woes. Winning the Nobel is unlikely to stop the jack-hammering from the right, whose noise has drowned out the views Krugman has expressed in his second job as a Times columnist (Krugman is a professor of economics at Princeton University). He is a kind, mild-mannered soul who does not stand up to bloviators on Fox News so much as absorb their body blows. He is much too thoughtful to be smart at the easy bantering and repartee that passes for knowledge on the talk shows.

It is amazing our nation has come to this point: turning the table against the bloviators has literally required the wrecking of the US economy. Think about it: we have gone from peace and prosperity to war and depression in a few short years. The message frame promoted by Karl Rove of "values voters" has disintegrated in the destruction of value that voters most care about: the security of their bank accounts. Will Krugman have a wider audience now that he is a Nobel Laureate? He should. Will the editorial boards and management of the nation's newspapers feel less inclined to give equal time to crack-pot theories of the bloviator class, as an expression of so-called balance? They should, too. Congratulations, Paul Krugman.