Paul Krugman: DON'T blame Bush!

Wow:

So here’s the bottom line: Mr. Bush deserves some blame for the poor performance of the economy on his watch, but much of the blame lies with other, earlier political figures, who squandered chances for reform.

Krugman cites chief culprits for the current economic rough patch as high energy/raw materials costs and the lack of health care reform which has led to spiraling costs. With health care costs a key factor in labor costs, it makes companies less likely to hire additional workers.

Of course Krugman believes that more government are the solution to both, proposing regulation such as increased CAFE standards for cars and government-run health care. No mention is made of other solutions such as increased drilling or de-coupling health care from employment and promoting free market initiatives to reduce costs.