Pundit Boxscore for Monday 26 April 2004

JOKE OR NO JOKE: In a series of posts on Paul Krugman last month, I noted that he had referred to himself as "the lonely voice of truth in an ocean of corruption" in a German interview. I was assuming that his comment was serious, and I contrasted Mr. Krugman's view with others who suggested that he was instead descending into paranoia. Reader Janus Daniels writes that I missed the joking context of the remark:

Just noticed disturbing slip on your site; you quote an end of interview joke out of both text and temporal context, and use it to suggest paranoia. Fortunately, you directly link, but with all the links, how many people click through?

KRUGMAN: I am preparing right now for my next lecture. To be honest, I am quite happy I don't have to earn my living out of writing and to still have an academic career. This way I can take totally different risks than a regular journalist. I don't have to rely on good access to the White House so I can allow myself not to please everybody.
MIRROR: You obviously didn't.
KRUGMAN: What it is peculiar is that, when I arranged my column with the New York Times in Fall 1999, I actually thought I would provide good-tempered comments on the specifics of the New Economy. Instead of that, I find myself once again the lonely voice of truth in an ocean of corruption. I sometimes think that I will end up one day in one of those cages in Guantanamo Bay [laughter]. But then I can always seek asylum in Germany. I hope you'll take me in case of emergency.
MIRROR: Professor Krugman, we thank you for this interview. Originally published, 12.30.02

It seems to me that Mr. Krugman was joking about ending up in a cage in Guantanamo rather than about being the lonely voice of truth; note that the laughter is shown as after the Guantanamo comment. Mr. Daniels elaborated in a subsequent e-mail:

Humor has formal structures. In the Krugman quote, you can see setup, punchline, release (SPR). Setup "... I find myself once again the lonely voice of truth in an ocean of corruption." Punchline "I sometimes think that I will end up one day in one of those cages in Guantanamo Bay [laughter]." Release "But then I can always seek asylum in Germany." Close "I hope you'll take me in case of emergency." Of course, he finishes with a close, because the interview is ending. Notice that, without the setup, the punchline has no punch. I could go on, but I already need to apologize for writing so heavily about such light remarks, and so humorlessly about humor.

More importantly, if Krugman had gone delusional, it would show more pervasively, and gain more notice, even from his cohorts. Coulter, by contrast, got herself fired by the National Review. Krugman stoops to distortion; Coulter aspires to it.