Tom also notes that Paul Krugman is on vacation. I am unsure if he means from the New York Times or economic reality.

Heh; this note is added by the editor, not by Tom. It makes more sense in the print edition, because it has more context. Paul's and Tom's columns share the same page in the paper, so if you go there expecting to find Paul's, you'll see the note at the bottom of the page explaining why it isn't there.

The translation to the Web is less than perfect.

RE: A Race to the Top, Or, An Obit For Old Europe