New York Times columnist Paul Krugman's Tuesday morning blog post no doubt left his hordes of leftist fans weeping and gnashing their teeth: 'Why I'm Not In Zuccotti Park [1].' That's the space in Lower Manhattan that's been occupied by the loose affiliation of leftist Wall Street protesters for four weeks running. The brief item in full:
Some readers have been asking me to go make a speech at one of the OWS demonstrations. If you think about it, however, you'll see why I can't.
I've been granted the enormous privilege of expounding my own views twice a week in the world's greatest newspaper. I try to make the best use of that privilege, doing all I can to get the truth across and also advocating for what I believe to be the right policies. There are, however, some restrictions that come with the privilege; one of them is not crossing the line between advocate and activist. And there are good reasons for drawing that line.
Just in case you were wondering.
One of Krugman's many gushing commenters wrote in response: 'Paul, your great work as a scholar and truth-teller are with folks at all times in Zuccotti and everywhere OWS exists. You ARE in the park. Thanks for all you do. Your work requires courage and has earned our respect many times over.'
Krugman's pompous response inspired a Twitter hashtag from less reverent readers, #Krugmanexcuses.