In which The Gay Recluse scores selected opinions in The Times.

Paul Krugman/Grains Gone Wild

The Short Version: Add soaring costs of food to the list of ways in which we are completely fucked.

In his words: “Oh, and in case you’re wondering: all the remaining presidential contenders are terrible on this issue.”

Score: D+ (Doomy)
Although we appreciate Krugman’s doom-and-gloom outlook, we remember twenty years ago when the Krugmans of the world were already predicting the end of civilization for many of the same reasons we see today. And it’s not that we don’t believe Krugman — or more to the point, that we don’t support “sustainable growth,” because we do — but we wish that he would write with some awareness of what has already not come to pass, to better preempt the boy-who-cried-wolf criticism that has already marginalized him.

William Kristol/The Shape of the Race To Come

The Short Version: In Obama versus the Maverick, McCain will win because he’s 1) a better debater, 2) he’s out of touch with the middle class.

In his words: “But a surprising number of Democrats with whom I’ve spoken expect a McCain victory.”

The Score: F (Fake)
This column is worth reading because it gives you some insight into what Obama will face in a general election; i.e., he will be painted as a muslim, n-word, “liberal,” as if that’s the worst thing in the world and not exactly what “the middle class” needs after being complelety eviscerated by Nixon and Company for the last 40 years.

Roger Cohen/A Passage to Tibet

The Short Version: Tibet is testing the limits of Chinese autocratic rule.

In her words: “But the Chinese authorities need to face some greater truths.”

The Score: B (Better)
This column hints at an interesting psychological truth, which is that those in power will inevitably sow the seeds of their own downfall. As much as we can say this about the United States, it is no less the case in China.