Krugman’s Bork moment

Paul Krugman spoke at the National Press Club today and faltered at one point when he was talking about the recession, or the depression. Said some smart things: that the economy can regain its strength without doing anything to reverse the vast inequity in wealth (that's the problem with capitalism), and we're going to find out something of our grandparents' experience now. Also that he finds it fascinating, because it's what he's written about a lot, the great Depression, and now he gets to actually see something like it. Then he caught himself, and said, well, actually it was "personally horrifying," or words very close to those. I found this revealing. I can't imagine that it's actually personally horrifying for Krugman. The man is riding high, and just collected $1.2 million in Oslo. Everyone wants to hear what he has to say. This has got to be great for him, and I don't hold it against him, though it is loaded. Robert Bork lost his bid to be a Supreme Court justice when he looked on the job with relish–it was an "intellectual feast." The Senate decided he should have that feast at the American Enterprise Institute, as a scholar, not while handling the people's silver. Krugman isn't a public servant. I bet he's having an intellectual feast too.