Paul Krugman, of all people, moves the narrative on

There is a new column by Paul Krugman in the NY Times in which he discusses why all of the GOP presidential candidates are failures. Certainly, the snarky opinion piece is not a surprise; Krugman never met a Republican he liked. Still, in the ongoing stream of progressive punditry about the election, Krugman has taken the next step forward. We have gone from Obama is unbeatable (last May) to the electoral college is a lock for Obama (August) to Occupy Wall Street has energized the left and made Obama a winner (September/October) to demographic changes in the electorate will carry Obama to victory (November to date). Krugman, however, has taken the next step. Here is what he says:

"The same metaphor, it seems to me, might apply to the G.O.P. pursuit of the White House next year. If the dog actually catches the car — the actual job of running the U.S. government — it will have no idea what to do, because the realities of government in the 21st century bear no resemblance to the mythology all ambitious Republican politicians must pretend to believe. And what will happen then?"

Let me translate this into English for those who never studied Krugmanese. Krugman says that even if the Republicans win the election, they will not know how to govern because they do not recognize the "realities" of Washington. This is an critical statement in my view. It represents the first time any of the liberal army of pundits has discussed a Republican victory. Sure, the point is that if the GOP wins, it will fail. Nevertheless, it is the "if the GOP wins" part of the sentence that is most important. Can it be that reality is getting through to even those living in the progressive bubble in Washington and Manhattan?