If Europeans could vote... but they can!

If the world could vote in the U.S. this November, it would elect Barack Obama, says Washington Post in today's editorial. 

Mr. Obama's huge popularity in Western Europe -- his favorable ratings are over 80 percent in France and Germany -- seems to reflect an expectation that the Democrat would reverse the policies of President Bush.

Post editors think Europeans are pretty darn smart, so it's no surprise if the Post seems to be open to European input on American politics.

The outpouring of enthusiasm for Mr. Obama in places such as Berlin -- where a smaller share of people say they have favorable views of the United States than in Russia or China -- seems to reflect a longing to repair a broken relationship. An Obama presidency offers the possibility of building on those sentiments. Mr. McCain would have to start cold. Neither may have a good chance of obtaining more European troops for Afghanistan or major new sanctions against Iran. But on the intangible but critical question of American prestige and the willingness to accept U.S. leadership that comes with it, Mr. Obama has more to offer.

What a tragic missed opportunity should critical intangibles escape us, and escape us they may.  Regrettably, Americans are not so perceptive as those Europeans, but Post editors can hold onto hope.  While Europeans may not be able to cast ballots in the U.S. they do vote in ways that are certainly aimed at affecting the outcome our upcoming election.  Case in point is the extraordinary vote by Sweden's Nobel Foundation in awarding its Nobel Prize in Economics this year.  It goes to Paul Krugman.

"for his analysis of trade patterns and location of economic activity"

In its announcement of Krugman's achievement Nobelprize.org notes,

"Titles, data and places given above refer to the time of the award."

This is an intriguing disclaimer.  The time of the award does not necessarily match up to the timeframe of the work that earned it.  Confirmation of this comes in the announcement of Krugman's achievement.  The work that earned him the prize was done a little earlier than 2008.

The embryo of the theory which would come to be called the “new economic geography” had already appeared in Krugman’s 1979 article.

[...]

Twelve years would pass, however, before Krugman reconsidered these ideas. In an article published in 1991, he developed these concepts into a comprehensive theory of location of labor and firms.

How timely.  Nobel Prize Committee had 17 years to ponder the genius of Krugman.  After their lengthy deliberation the committee can be doubly assured that they have found a most worthy scholar.

Of course, it may not have been the genius of his theory that got Krugman the prize.  An AP article touched on other factors that weighed in Krugman's favor. 

Krugman has been a harsh critic of the Bush administration and the Republican Party in The New York Times, where he writes a regular column and has a blog called "Conscience of a Liberal."

He has also taken the Bush administration to task over the current financial meltdown, blaming its pursuit of deregulation and unencumbered fiscal policies for the financial crisis that has threatened the global economy with recession.

Perhaps better known as a columnist than an economist to the public, Krugman has also come out forcefully against John McCain during the economic meltdown, saying the Republican presidential candidate is "more frightening now than he was a few weeks ago." Krugman (pronounced KROOG-man) also has derided the Republicans as becoming "the party of stupid."

Tore Ellingsen, a member of the prize committee, acknowledged that Krugman was an "opinion maker" but added that he was honored on the merits of his economic research, not his political commentary.

"We disregard everything except for the scientific merits," Ellingsen told The Associated Press.

Other factors were weighty indeed, if they impelled the Nobel committee to go back 29 years in total to find their prize winning work.  Sweden voted, and a vote for Krugman is a vote for Obama.  I can picture wistful Washington Post editors contemplating a sad situation -- Sweden's electoral votes won't count in the U.S.