The problem is that it’s not clear what Mr. Obama can do about this prospect. Conventional wisdom in Washington seems to have congealed around the view that budget deficits preclude any further fiscal stimulus — a view that’s all wrong on the economics, but that doesn’t seem to matter. Meanwhile, the Democratic base, so energized last year, has lost much of its passion, at least partly because the administration’s soft-touch approach to Wall Street has seemed to many like a betrayal of their ideals.
The president, then, having failed to exploit his early opportunities, is pinned down in his too-small beachhead.
If the Democrats lose badly in the midterms, the talking heads will say that Mr. Obama tried to do too much, this is a center-right nation, and so on. But the truth is that Mr. Obama put his agenda at risk by doing too little. The fateful decision, early this year, to go for economic half-measures may haunt Democrats for years to come.
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I see Krugman received a new shipment of medical marijuana.
mizflame98 on November 6, 2009 at 10:12 PM
Krugman needs to have his medication adjusted. Until recently, he was just another lefty loon; now he simply babbles incoherently.
MrScribbler on November 6, 2009 at 10:12 PM
They pay him to write this?
artist on November 6, 2009 at 10:15 PM
What’s worse; this or the fact that people pay to read him?
- The Cat
MirCat on November 6, 2009 at 10:16 PM
If only my whozawhatzis was bigger, I might get all the girlz I want.
Sheesh, PK needs to be treated in a secure medical facility.
platypus on November 6, 2009 at 10:16 PM
I have only ever made one prayer to God, a very short one: O Lord, make my enemies ridiculous. And God granted it
- Voltaire
Defector01 on November 6, 2009 at 10:18 PM
Sounds kind of Freudian to me.
farright on November 6, 2009 at 10:19 PM
Ombudsman Correction:
The fateful decision, early this year, to blndly support Obama on all issues may haunt MSM revenues for years to come.
fogw on November 6, 2009 at 10:19 PM
Why don’t liberals just cut and paste “We need to tax the rich and spend more money”? They write the same stuff day in and day out. I bet they don’t even believe the U.S. could spend too much money. Under a Democrat administration that is, I believe during the Bush administration the debt kept Mr. Krugman awake at night.
Cindy Munford on November 6, 2009 at 10:24 PM
Nice to “see” you around.
Cindy Munford on November 6, 2009 at 10:25 PM
So says former Enron adviser Paul Krugman… LOL!
Caper29 on November 6, 2009 at 10:25 PM
I win again! Holy crap is this douche bag predictable.
BadgerHawk on November 6, 2009 at 10:26 PM
No wonder the New York Times is struggling financially – they give space and voice to a true buffoon.
bbh on November 6, 2009 at 10:26 PM
He’s a former Enron advisor, you know.
But not a Nobel laureate, as there is no Nobel Prize in Economics.
Del Dolemonte on November 6, 2009 at 10:27 PM
*facepalm*
Paul, it’s not the size that counts, it’s how you use it.
In this case, the Dems blew the whole thing on the electoral version of coke and hookers by pretty much giving handouts to groups he wanted beholden to them. If they wanted to promote growth and recovery, there were specific things he could have done and they intentionally did NOT do them despite that point being raised on both sides of the aisle.
teke184 on November 6, 2009 at 10:29 PM
So, the stimulus should’ve been 2 or 3 trillion dollars instead of the piddling $787 billion!!
I think the left in this country is reaching the point of being discredited for generations.
ddrintn on November 6, 2009 at 10:36 PM
Cue Bill Clinton…
mizflame98 on November 6, 2009 at 10:36 PM
And probably have taken economic advice from him.
ddrintn on November 6, 2009 at 10:37 PM
You want to bet?
mizflame98 on November 6, 2009 at 10:42 PM
Weapons-grade stupid.
greggriffith on November 6, 2009 at 10:45 PM
Hey Krugman, you can’t fix things and buy us off by throwing away more of the money that you confiscate from us.
obladioblada on November 6, 2009 at 10:49 PM
Krugman won his Nobel though for his suitably lefty columns. Friedman and Buchanan won theirs on, you know, actual technical brilliance.
ddrintn on November 6, 2009 at 10:55 PM
They don’t make them like they use to.
mizflame98 on November 6, 2009 at 11:03 PM
How much hadol do you have to take to get to his dimension?
jhffmn on November 6, 2009 at 11:25 PM
I want what he’s snorting.
txag92 on November 6, 2009 at 11:33 PM
And so the myth that “if only the President was even more demostrably left, we would have expanded our majorities” begins.
Think of it as pre-emptive spin for Nov. 2010. This reason is the one that liberals will tell themselves at night to explain their loss. The fact that Krugman has to start a year early is telling, isn’t it?
Revenant on November 6, 2009 at 11:35 PM
Hey, great idea. Maybe the Dems should totally ignore the misgivings of the Blue Dogs, go completely over the top, and push a new stimulus, only make this one TEN trillion instead of only ONE trillion. Yeah, the country will carry the Dems around on their shoulders and shout “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow” for the next hundred years. As a matter of fact, maybe they should just go nuts with the Kelo precedent and start federalizing millions of square miles of land. Oh yeah, and force people to adopt exhalation quotas to ensure they don’t exhale more than a certain amount of CO2 every day, because as we all know, CO2 is a planet killer, and the people saying that CO2 is plant food are all liars.
Because when people elected Obama in 2008, they weren’t just sick of Bush; they were also sick of the free market and of freedom in general, so the more the Democrats force Americans into serfdom, the happier the voters will be.
/sarc
Aitch748 on November 7, 2009 at 12:01 AM
Far out, man! He’s, like, in the ether.
ncborn on November 7, 2009 at 12:04 AM
Awesome.
LibTired on November 7, 2009 at 12:07 AM
I liked how he turned the elections into a Democrat win and support for Obama’s health plan.
/You just can’t fix stupid
AZfederalist on November 7, 2009 at 12:30 AM
A common crack dealer knows more about economics than this pathetic,loser. Hopefully the New York crimes gets a hard lesson in economics soon.
Wingnut on November 7, 2009 at 12:32 AM
Krugman isn’t that weird. I once met a biologist who believed in Creationism.
thuja on November 7, 2009 at 12:47 AM
Krugman’s more dangerous.
ddrintn on November 7, 2009 at 12:56 AM
If they had spent $1.2 trillion, unemployment would be even higher because companies would be even more willing to invest in the face massive nationalization and confiscatory taxes needed to pay it back. And Krugman would be writing articles that $2.4 trillion was needed.
pedestrian on November 7, 2009 at 1:49 AM
Someone at the WH might be listening to him. It links to Politico and I know people don’t like that site. This is interesting Whatever you do don’t call it a stimlus package.
Brat4life on November 7, 2009 at 1:55 AM
idiot
unseen on November 7, 2009 at 2:41 AM
Watch out, Mr. Krugman. You sound like you might be saying that the non-stimulus was a “failed policy”. Comrade Obama ran against those.
Axeman on November 7, 2009 at 3:00 AM
The mixed-up mess that was the 23rd Congressional District Special Election was a close race between Democrat Bill Owens and Conservative Doug Hoffman. Many feel that it was unlikely Mr. Owens would have won those crucial few thousand votes if the voting public was aware of his intent with regard to the Health Care bill. The majority of residents in this district do not support the Health Reform bill as it is now written and many feel like they’ve become victims of a fraud perpetrated by their chosen candidate.
Breaking campaign promises is not unusual for politicians… it’s a cliche. This is almost certainly a record though. Mr. Owens broke no less than 4 promises in his first 24 hours in office.
and these are the people Paul wants to give more money and power to spend that money too? I say crooks and liars desevere no more money or power.
unseen on November 7, 2009 at 4:12 AM
Man, it sure doesn’t say much that this fool came in 6th in 2005 as one of the world’s top intellectuals. He is just so impressed with himself, he can’t stand himself. Has anything he’s ever espoused been a financial success? Glad I’m not rich enough to afford Princeton for my kids.
red131 on November 7, 2009 at 4:14 AM
Krugman isn’t that weird. I once met a biologist who believed in Creationism.
thuja on November 7, 2009 at 12:47 AM
i have met several. As well has geologists, paleontoligists, science teachers etc.
In fact maybe you have heard of this guy:
“In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognize, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what really makes me angry is that they quote me for the support of such views.”
“I’m not an atheist and I don’t think I can call myself a pantheist. We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangements of the books, but doesn’t know what it is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God.”
Albert Einstein.
I can think of no better way to describe creationism.
unseen on November 7, 2009 at 4:20 AM
I think the “smartest man int he world” is confusing size for effectiveness.
Lonetown on November 7, 2009 at 5:13 AM
Keep telling yourself that when the Dems are wiped out in 2010. Its not going to make it any better.
nyx on November 7, 2009 at 5:45 AM
Krugman ain’t no Milton Friedman.
J.J. Sefton on November 7, 2009 at 6:03 AM
There’s more evidence supporting Creationism than there is supporting Krugman’s economic theories.
AZCoyote on November 7, 2009 at 7:13 AM
The Economics prize is administered by the Nobel Committee, but is not actually a Nobel Prize.
Count to 10 on November 7, 2009 at 7:15 AM
An appeal to authority that contradicts observations.
Count to 10 on November 7, 2009 at 7:17 AM
Krugman, paraphrased: “It is sound economic policy to throw bad money after bad.”
BKennedy on November 7, 2009 at 7:34 AM
Well, ya know what? If they would give me a stimulus of, say a million dollars in gold, I’d vote for them. I don’t want their money though. Last dollar I got from the government turned my fingers green from the wet ink.
MikeA on November 7, 2009 at 7:49 AM
Not true. Krugman has always been an arch-loon in addition to a transparent partisan.
This is the same moron who, under Bush’s skyscraper deficits said that the end of our Republic was nigh. Now under His August Majesty our deficits have launched into lunar orbit and, whaddya know, Krugman thinks deficit spending is actually healthy!
Lehosh on November 7, 2009 at 7:59 AM
It wasn’t “economic half measures”. It was “economic NO measures” intended NOT to stimulate the economy, but to pay for votes, political paybacks, and redistribute wealth. PERIOD.
marklmail on November 7, 2009 at 8:03 AM
The NYT: where 1+1 = … whatever.
karl9000 on November 7, 2009 at 8:22 AM
The press have invested what little reputation they had in getting Obama to the White House.
They are now starting to figure out that was a bad bet and see their reputations going down the drain rapidly!
Rndguy on November 7, 2009 at 8:23 AM
If Republicans are the party of no ideas, then Democrats must be the party of ineptitude. Of course, PK would have to take off his partisan blinders to be able see a new idea and then get past his holier-than-thou smugness to recognize it.
.
Paul Krugman: Proof positive that high IQ doesn’t mean smart.
ExpressoBold on November 7, 2009 at 9:12 AM
Slightly OT:
I just received a notice from GovTrack.us that Kerry and Boxer are sponsoring a bill called: S. 1733: Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act
Wasn’t the stimulus supposed to create green jobs???
Is this just another version of Cap-n-Tax??
WTF?
cntrlfrk on November 7, 2009 at 10:19 AM
AND KRUGMAN CALLS HIMSELF AN ECONOMIST?! BOB CHAPMAN OF THE INTERNATIONAL FORECASTER, WHO YOU NEOCONS HAVE NEVER HEARD OF B/C YOU GET TALK FROM THAT NEOCON DRUGGIE LIMBAUGH, WOULD RUN CIRCLES AROUND THAT GLOBALIST FASCIST!
BobAnthony on November 7, 2009 at 10:26 AM
If the first stimulus had worked as advertised and the economy was still sputtering, a second stimulus could be passed easily. The problem is that it didn’t work.
If the administration had really been as smart as they claim, they would have said that unemployment would have gone to 12% without the stimulus and with the stimulus it would go to 10.5%. Then, we’d be ahead of the forecast and it would be relatively straightforward to get the votes for a second stimulus. And, at the time of the stimulus debate, the whole “blame Bush” mantra would have flown pretty easily, so getting a bigger stimulus, with those kinds of forecasts, would probably have been feasible.
That’s what I would have done. The fact that they didn’t is just more proof they are not really strategic thinkers.
venividivici on November 7, 2009 at 10:33 AM
It’s called The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. Not the same thing as a Nobel Prize.
And as wiki tells us
And Encyclopedia Britannica tells us
I’ll take my cash in small bills, please!
Del Dolemonte on November 7, 2009 at 10:49 AM
Well, that would be true only if you suddenly became a fascist loonatron bent on revenge for some personal issue AND your fellow loonatrons actually hired you.
Of course, they aren’t smart enough to know they’re stupid so we know this is an mental exercise in four dimensional Mobius strip making.
platypus on November 7, 2009 at 12:01 PM
Indeed, that would have to happen first and my lack of personal issues would be a hindrance.
venividivici on November 7, 2009 at 12:08 PM
Plus, your lack of a burning need to boss others around for the sheer sadistic joy of doing it seems like it would be a deal breaker.
Sorry. Thanks for
playingtrying. Be sure to pick up your consolation prize at the door.platypus on November 7, 2009 at 12:21 PM
Whadda’ coincidence… Sounds just like Slappy’s Afghanistan strategy/policy.
franksalterego on November 7, 2009 at 12:25 PM
Merciful Heavens, der Krugerman used Christina Romer (a.k.a. ‘Giggles’) to prove a point about the Economy?
To absorb Christina Romer (Chair of the President’s Council of Economic Advisors), CSPAN has a classic performance at the Economic Club. Pure ALice in Wonderland, only the Rabbit is missing. After the amazing performance of charts and graphs around 42:40 Robert Shapiro attempts to enter Wonderland with his question about Fiddling while Rome Burns. That followed by Romer’s explanation to the Economic Club guests about the greatest frustration of her job, which would make a good episode on Scare Tactics
entagor on November 7, 2009 at 1:26 PM