Ah, Paul Krugman…
You really have to know his particulars to properly despise the man.
He spent much of the late 1980s and early 1990s disparaging Lester Thurow (not necessarily a bad thing) for being more journalist than economist. Given hindsight in the matter, it would appear the good Professor has immersed himself in the journalistic credo (both in terms of accuracy and professional ethics) to an extent that Thurow never imagined.
He expended a significant stockpile of bile accusing George W. Bush and the Republican Party of enabling the massive Enron fraud in exchange for corporate contributions, even to the rather infamous extent of opining that the Enron fraud would have a greater impact on the world than the 9/11 attacks. But then when it is disclosed that the good Professor accepted a lucrative consulting contract from Enron…well, that was different.
And of course he cannot be bothered with the reconstruction of Iraq’s economy. There is no money in it. The good Professor would rather accept large consulting fees from viciously anti-semitic, anti-democratic asian governments…and then defend those governments in print. Yes, the good Professor is greatly worried about truth and justice twice a week and in print…but that doesn’t pay for the Jag. Neither would working for the CPA.
There was a time, and it seems forever ago, when Paul Krugman was considered a likely candidate to be the next Keynes. There was that much respect for his talents. While his career has certainly been distinquished, it is obvious to those who have watched him that Krugman has never truly fulfilled the promise he once exhibited in his chosen career. And now his descent into media whoredom is so complete that Krugman’s reputation as a serious economist is in jeopardy, and sadly, Krugman seems unable to see this through the haze of approval he is getting from those who use him for their own ends.
My own take on him is that he is a farty little man in the midst of a farty little mid-life crisis. Anyone who has seen him speak (I seen him more than once on CSPAN) would be able to pick up on this vibe pretty easily. This is man who imagines himself greatly feared by the Administration and the Republican Party, and has said more than once that he can imagine the vast right wing conspiracy trying to hound him out of the country. And with that, you just have to come to the conclusion that Krugman is not much more than an Ivy League version of our own lil joe…desperate for attention and even more desperate for importance.
It is good that Simone Ledeen has publicly rebutted Paul Krugman, but I would urge her not to dwell on either the man or his actions. Paul Krugman’s professional life has been a case study in double standards. He must be taken seriously only, and I do mean only, to the extent that he must be rebutted. Other than that, there is no reason to get caught up in his mid-life convulsions or his dishonesty.
