If I were Joe Lieberman and highly-respected economist Paul Krugman was criticizing me on misrepresenting a fiscal matter, I think I’d assume his exhaustive understanding of the issue trumped my experience as AG of Connecticut and leave the matter there — who reads and remembers Paul Krugman anyway? But I am not Joe Lieberman and the guy who is Joe Lieberman clearly believes different tactics are in order. So he wrote in to the New York Times to explain why he was right and Krugman wrong. And that was where it stood until highly respected economist Brad DeLong took up the issue and explained to Lieberman exactly where he was wrong and why his statements made no sense.

Ezra Klein is a former Prospect writer and current editor-in-chief at Vox. His work has appeared in the LA Times, The Guardian, The Washington Monthly, The New Republic, Slate, and The Columbia Journalism Review. He’s been a commentator on MSNBC, CNN, NPR, and more.