Krugman Could Turn into Massive Douchebag, Colleagues Fear

[Wetzelbill]

Krugman Could Turn into Massive Douchebag, Colleagues Fear

One day after the Nobel committee announced that Paul Krugman had won the 2008 Nobel Prize for economics, colleagues of Mr. Krugman voiced concerns that winning the coveted award could turn him into an egregious douchebag.

At The New York Times, where Mr. Krugman is an op-ed page columnist, and at Princeton University, where he is a professor of economics, co-workers of the newly-minted Nobel laureate were reportedly bracing for the worst.

"I think it's safe to say that Paul had pretty high self-esteem before the Nobel thing went down," said one of Mr. Krugman's Princeton associates, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "But now he's walking around like he's Jay-Z or something."

The first ominous sign, according to the associate, came at a meeting of the economics department this morning, when Mr. Krugman showed up with a coffee mug reading, "No. 1 Economist."

While his colleagues discussed the current global financial crisis, Mr. Krugman "couldn't be bothered" and spent the meeting texting Matt Damon instead.

At one point, one of his fellow economists asked him a question about credit default swaps, to which Mr. Krugman reportedly snapped, "Credit default swaps can suck my ass -- I'm Paul Fucking Krugman!"

Mr. Krugman could not be reached for comment and instead referred all questions to his publicist, Sherri Hefstein, whom he hired minutes after winning the Nobel.

According to Ms. Hefstein, Mr. Krugman plans to spend the next few months "building his brand" and will be adapting his book, International Economics: Theory and Policy, into a feature film to star George Clooney.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andy-borowitz/krugman-could-turn-into-m_b_134477.html

[BootinUp]

1. This has to be satire. Krugmans body language says so. lol. nt

[roguevalley]

34. he's a quiet and normal man. this is a hoot. :)

[ColbertWatcher]

40. This has to be satire because the link has the name Andy Borowitz in it. n/t

[ReadTomPaine]

2. Isn't comedy supposed to make you laugh? n/t

[Wetzelbill]

6. Krugman thought it was funny, he posted it on his blog

[ReadTomPaine]

8. Sorry it does nothing for me.. but my sense of humor can be odd at times, admittedly...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x7424312

[Wetzelbill]

17. odd is good

Nothing like a little eccentricity.

[gizmo1979]

18. I thought it was very funny.NT

[annabanana]

44. (made me laugh) . . n/t

[LittleApple81]

3. satire

Andy Borowitz is a comedian and writer whose work appears in The New Yorker and The New York Times, and at his award-winning humor site

[Wetzelbill]

7. yup

[fascisthunter]

4. WTF?!

busted

[Fuzz]

5. lmao

[mucifer]

9. That was really funny!! I can say that because I met him on the

Air America cruise. He was very shy and geeky.

[Wetzelbill]

10. he does seem very shy

He always looks a little uncomfortable on television.

[loudsue]

14. I can say it ....just because it IS really funny!

:rofl: Even though I didn't meet him...this was a great article, and I'm sure Krugman loved it!

[jhain]

11. BAWHAHWHHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAA

BAWHAHHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[Turbineguy]

12. Yes. According to the GOP

anybody who would refer to the Bush 43 presidency as a "dark chapter in American history" is guilty of douchebaggery, an offense punishable by character assassination by idiots like Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh.

[TexasObserver]

13. Mr. Krugman "couldn't be bothered" and spent the meeting texting Matt Damon

that's hilarious

[Wetzelbill]

16. I like the "I'm Paul Fucking Krugman" part lol

That so seems unlike him.

[TexasObserver]

28. Krugman is about the most modest economist you could pick.

[EFerrari]

15. LMAO!

Congrats, Paul!

:woohoo:

[bigtree]

19. funny

PBS funny, but funny

[Jade Fox]

20. Hey, Krugman IS Jay-Z to me.....

I'm a Krugman groupie!! ;)

[pink-o]

27. Me, too!

Y'know, if I'd gone to Temple with him as a teenager, I would've written him off as just a skinny little shlimil and never considered dating him! I wasted waaaay too much time with jocks and tortured artists; now it's liberal, intelligent minds that turn me on.

I'm glad he has a sense of humor as well! When is he gonna do Jon Stewart, my other former-shimil crush????

[Jade Fox]

31. "Shlimil lovin' rules."

That is all.

[tom_paine]

21. LOL!

:rofl:

[spanone]

22. the onion?

[Wetzelbill]

30. no

Andy Borowitz.

[rosesaylavee]

23. That is so funny!

Perhaps we will need to have a Paul Krugman Forum here on DU?

:rofl:

[angstlessk]

24. I can tell when I listen to him talk...the 'well, um, uh,' and his body language

he is an aristocrat..ain't that how they talk and 'swagger'?

[3waygeek]

25. Krugman's turning Republican? n/t

[spooky3]

26. give the author, Andy Borowitz, the credit he deserves

His stuff is almost always funny.

[Wetzelbill]

29. I used to put his name on it

but everybody figured out it was satire right off. Now they go to the link to figure it out. :)

[seemslikeadream]

32. Krugman and his bling

[wryter2000]

47. LMAO

Perfect accompaniment to a very funny column.

[elleng]

33. "Andy Borowitz is a comedian and writer"

.

[Wetzelbill]

36. he sure is

[La Lioness Priyanka]

35. funny

:)

[BlooInBloo]

37. What's even funnier than the article is the number of people here who think it's serious.

:rofl:

[Wetzelbill]

39. that's always the best

That's really the biggest reason I post Borowitz's work, lol. I am a bad person. :)

[wisteria]

38. Krugman may have ego issues, but he has been spot on regarding the housing and current market crisis

Say what you will, but I have been reading him for awhile and he warned about the outcome of the ballooning housing market once the balloon busted.

[Wetzelbill]

41. yeah I'm not a fan

I mean seriously "No. 1 Economist"? What ever happened to humility? I like Milton Friedman much better. And Alan Greenspan has been dead on for years too.

[EFerrari]

48. That's Uncle Milty to you.

lol

[The Backlash Cometh]

42. Someone is jealous.

[Wetzelbill]

43. oh no, I'm already one

[checks-n-balances]

45. "Massive Douchebag?" Yikes! What a cringeworthy image...

not the first thing I think of when I hear or see Paul Krugman!

Andy Borowitz is a gifted comedy writer & Thom Hartmann reads his political satire column every week on his show. Borowitz and his wife were creators of the hilarious TV series "Fresh Prince of L.A." years ago.

Thanks for posting!

[mzmolly]

46. Cute.

:hi: