I want to build on the point that Adam Green, writing at Open Left, makes about the need for more liberals in the mainstream media. Watch the clip below from the “Roundtable” segment on yesterday’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos. Aside from Krugman, there are no liberal voices. The others on the panel either spout tendentious re-imaginings of political and economic history (George Will) or half-baked solutions that are grounded in little to no schooling or expertise (Sam Donaldson).
Green asks, “What would this segment be like if Krugman wasn’t there?” I totally agree, but not just because Krugman reps the lefty point of view. In the absence of expertise, conventional wisdom fills the void. You see that from Will, Donaldson, and Cokie Roberts. Krugman pairs a liberal perspective with actual knowledge, and it’s that combo that makes him the most effective member of the panel. We need more liberals in the media, but we really more liberal experts in the media. So go out and nab those Nobel prizes, folks. There’s an idea war to be won.
