One Book, Two Very Different Covers [Krugman on defensive]

The New York Times ^ | November 23, 2003 | DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK

[aculeus]

PAUL KRUGMAN, the liberal economist and columnist for The New York Times Op-Ed Page, has recently urged his fellow liberals to be less civil toward their conservative foes. The British publisher of his latest book, "The Great Unraveling," however, may have taken Mr. Krugman's advice further than he intended.

Unlike the relatively staid cover of the American edition published by W. W. Norton, the British book jacket bears caricatures of President Bush as Frankenstein-like and Vice President Dick Cheney with a Hitler mustache. A dark scrawl on the vice president's forehead reads, "Got Oil?"

Christine Iverson, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, said the cover showed that Mr. Krugman's attacks on the administration had descended into "hate speech."

"It is obvious that his feelings have clouded his objectivity and his ability to discuss the issues in a rational way," she said. "The fact that they are using a much different cover here in the United States is proof that his tactics are offensive to mainstream Americans."

Stuart Proffitt, who published the British edition for the Allen Lane imprint of Penguin Press, said he chose the cover because it seemed appropriate to the book's potential readers in Britain, where Mr. Krugman's name is less known and Mr. Bush is less popular than in the United States.

Catherine J. Mathis, a spokeswoman for The New York Times, said, "The newspaper has no relationship to the British publisher — we were never even shown the cover."

Mr. Krugman, for his part, said he did not remember seeing the cover until prepublication copies were sent to reviewers. "I think it was intended to be ironic," he said.

The cover images of Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney were borrowed from puppets carried by protesters outside the World Economic Forum in New York in 2002. Mr. Krugman said that he took part in the forum and does not share the protesters' views. He noted that his columns have defended free trade and argued that the administration's war in Iraq was not about oil.

"It is a marketing thing, not a statement," he said. "I should have taken a look at that and said, `What are you doing marketing me as if I am Michael Moore? This is silly.' "

Incivility is one thing, he said, but the book cover "may be undignified, which would be a reason to object."

[aculeus]

[aculeus]

This self-proclaimed advocate of incivility deserves more Freeper attention.

gcruse: Note survival of "Hitler" reference in Krapman's (incivility can be fun) own paper.

[Prime Choice]

Do the Leftists really want the gloves to come off?

Sure, Bill Frist & company have been doing little but lobbing softballs their way...but that can change.

I personally hope our next Republican Senate Majority Leader makes Newt Gingrich look tame. The current one isn't acting like any kind of leader with any kind of Republican majority.

[Bogey78O]

Paul Krugman is formulaic.

1. State part of an economic truism....badly.
2. Insult Bush.
3. Connect Bush's policy to the half-truism...no matter how.

[Bogey78O]

Keep in mind it was NEwt who sold out Bob Dornan.

[Prime Choice]

Keep in mind it was NEwt who sold out Bob Dornan.

That name rings a bell, but I don't remember why. : (

[Bogey78O]

Bob Dornan was the Cali rep who lost his seat by a very small margin. When they investigated it they found thousands of illegal votes. Gingrinch rolled over and didn't pursue it.

[MEG33]

Krugman is offended to be marketed as though he is Michael Moore..??Looks like he's playing to MM's audience in hope of raking in the same kind of bucks.He is a phony.

[Prime Choice]

Bob Dornan was the Cali rep who lost his seat by a very small margin. When they investigated it they found thousands of illegal votes. Gingrinch rolled over and didn't pursue it.

Was that the one where Dornan's opponent changed her last name to Sanchez to sound more ethnic and attract the Latino vote? Yeah, that was a seriously raw deal.

Anyway, I didn't say I wanted Newt back. I said I wanted someone to lead the Republican Majority who makes Newt look tame by comparison.

[Bogey78O]

Yea, I was just suggesting that Newt wasn't too wild. He was quite tame and civil.

[Verginius Rufus]

That name rings a bell...

Newt was House Majority Leader for a while during the 1990s...he got snookered by Clinton and the media so that when Clinton shut down the government, the public blamed Newt for it. He's still around and pops up on TV occasionally.

[Prime Choice]

Yea, I was just suggesting that Newt wasn't too wild. He was quite tame and civil.

Maybe my memory is selectively failing or something. I remember him being a real firebrand and digging in his heels during the government shutdown over budget issues in 1995. Those were some tough times and required a tough response.

[Prime Choice]

That name rings a bell...

Newt was House Majority Leader

Oh, I know who Newt is. I was referring to Dornan.

[Yardstick]

Ha! This is sweet. Our media guys ought to spread word of this kooky cover far and wide. Drudge ought to put it on his page. Krugman's credibility as a mainstream voice could be damaged by the adolescent kookery of the cover.

[MEG33]

Newt Gingrich led us to gain a record 56 seats for the Republicans in the House in 1994,gaining the majority for the first time in many,many years.He was hated and despised by the Dems.Remember "Contract with America?"Hitler wasn't the epithet the dems used,"Newt Gingrich" was the word.

[backhoe]

-The lies of Paul Krugman-( BLAIR, BRAGG, DOWD ... KRUGMAN? ) --

[OldFriend]

No difference at all between Michael Moore and Paul Krugman.

[OldFriend]

Dornan was so busy running for President he didn't bother to campaign in his district. How this is Newt's fault is beyond me!

If I had to choose between Newt and Dornan, I'd take Newt any time.

Dornan never missed an opportunity to bash the first President Bush and his gadfly behaviour is revolting to me.

[Graybeard58]

Dornan was so busy running for President he didn't bother to campaign in his district. How this is Newt's fault is beyond me

What Newt could have done about California election fraud is beyond me too.

[Bogey78O]

Newt didn't push an investigation into the fraud in California. Come to think of it, they never pushed to investigate the Landrieu fraud either.