Down, boy!

As a public intellectual, Paul Krugman has done a lot more good than harm by speaking truth to power. But he does get carried away and sloppy. Righteous anger mixed with a regular op-ed deadline and the mixed blessing of his blog are probably to blame. His attacks on fellow academics who disagree with him have sometimes been intemperate and, perhaps worse, undiscriminating. I'm not so concerned that he has hurt Reinhart and Rogoff's feelings... more damaging is that he has hurt his own reputation as a straight shooter in the process. And to what end? The whole R&R kerfuffle has been a distraction.