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

Paul Krugman/Thinking About November

The Short Version: Obama’s probably going to blow it because whites don’t like him!  

In his words: “In recent decades, Democrats have had little trouble unifying after hard-fought primary campaigns. ”

Score: F (Failure)
This is a depressingly cynical (but untruthful) column that implies that Clinton should have won because she has more support among white voters, which Krugman seems to think is a function of Obama’s failure to address economic concerns and has nothing to do with racism. OMG-hilarious! Here’s a suggestion for Krugman: let’s admit that some not insignificant percentage of the votes for Clinton were cast on race; let’s hope that these same numskulls will not be duped into voting for McCain, who will continue to rape and pillage the middle/lower class. But if they are, it’s not accurate to blame Obama for the problem, when he is so clearly part of the solution.     

David Brooks/The Conservative Revival

The Short Version: I’m in love with David Cameron, the new conservative-party leader in England!

In his words: “Cameron also believes government should help social entrepreneurs scale up their activities without burdening them with excessive oversight.”

The Score: F (Fantasy)
This column is actually about the fundamental failure of Brooks to apply meaningless, irrelevant labels like “conservative” to governments/ideas/policies that clearly transcend such labels. Like who doesn’t want smaller, more efficient hospitals, better schools, and a better quality of life? Does that make you a “conservative”? In short, barf barf barf.