Looked forward to Krugman winning his inevitable-assuming-he-didn't-die-young Nobel, just to annoy the wingnuts, but otherwise... Despite the beliefs of said wingnuts, the econ prize for good or for ill never really has had any political slant, except to the extent that it reflects the general prevailing slant of the economics profession. Meaning, I don't deny that general political orientation impacts what economists deem to be "good work," I just mean that Paul Krugman didn't win the prize because he was mean to George Bush any more than the wacky conservatives who got one did because they were outraged by Monica Lewinsky.