In which The Gay Recluse scores selected opinion pieces in The Times.

Paul Krugman/Loans and Leadership

The Short Version: When you look at policy proposals, McCain is a Nazi, Clinton is progressive and Obama (who annoys me just because) is less progressive.

In his words: “McCain is selling the same old snake oil, claiming that deregulation and tax cuts cure all ills.”

Score: B- (Bland)
This column is annoying to the extent that Krugman seems to think he was the only person in the United States who wasn’t surprised that Bush turned out to be a Nazi despite all of his campaign promises about being a “moderate.” Whatever. We hated Ronald Reagan Bush even from the time he was governor of California Texas. That quibble aside, we basically agree with Krugman about McCain/Clinton/Obama but think that he discounts too heavily the psychology of politics; although it makes logical sense to look at their proposals — like, no duh — it’s also true that some people have a way of getting things done with greater efficiency and style, and so far, Obama’s campaign seems a bit more lithe than Clinton’s, which could be just as telling as their position papers with regard to how their respective administrations would actually run.

David Brooks/Tested Over Time

The Short Version: The Maverick is not a hawk!

In his words: “This was not the speech of a man who thinks military force is the answer to every problem.”

The Score: D (Disingenuous)
We will concede that if George Bush is a zero on a scale of 1 (worst) to 10 (best) on foreign policy issues, than The Maverick is in fact more nuanced and flexible, and therefore merits a 1. This is not a reason to vote for him, obviously.