Congratulations, Dr. Krugman

This is such good news. And nobody deserves it more:

PRINCETON, N.J. (AP) -- Paul Krugman, whose relentless criticism of the Bush administration includes opposition to the $700 billion financial bailout, won the Nobel prize in economics Monday for his work on international trade patterns.

The Princeton University professor and New York Times columnist is the best-known American economist to win the prize in decades.

The Nobel committee commended Krugman's work on global trade, beginning with a 10-page paper in 1979 that knit together two fields of study, helping foster a better understanding of why countries produce similar products and why people move from the small towns to cities.

Krugman (pronounced KROOG-man) is best known for his unabashedly liberal column in the Times, which he has written since 1999. In it, he has said Republicans are becoming "the party of the stupid" and that the economic meltdown made GOP presidential nominee John McCain "more frightening now than he was a few weeks ago."
...
At Monday's news conference, Krugman was asked about China's economic future. He said he did not have an answer. "I've spent the last few years trying to save my own damn republic," Krugman said.

May he go from strength to strength in that aspiration.

UPDATE: Here is part of what Sterling Newberry said on Fire Dog Lake about the Krugman choice:

Giving the Nobel Memorial prize to Paul Krugman was not just recognition of his theory of economic geography, but a strong message. This would not be the first time, nor will it be the last time that those awarding the prize have sent a message.

One part of this message is on trade and globalization, and why developed nations should not fear global trade, another, however, is more direct and more blunt: it is about a changed world. In a year which has seen more tumult in not only the markets, but the basic institutions that support them, it is a message that the United States can no longer maintain an exceptionalist policy.

It is a message that the Era of Reagan is Over writ in large letters. A message that Europe sees the Republican Party as having turned dangerously towards politics and policies that are coming close to spiraling into the abyss.

I read somewhere that the White House declined to comment on Krugman's Nobel win.