Paul Krugman will be headlining a conference I have helped organize titled "Back to the Economy: Confronting America's Growth Challenges" that will take place at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington from 9:30 am until 2:00 pm.

Paul Krugman, less his professorship, is a pretty good target of what I want to be when I grow up. He is one of the world's most influential writers and thinkers, who speaks truth to power every time he writes. He has one of the most coveted perches in political and economic journalism in his regular column in the New York Times. I have a long way to go.

If you haven't read The Great Unraveling: Losing Our Way in the New Century, you must make time to do so. It's been out since the end of 2003 -- but it is still whoppingly relevant, more so in fact.

When last I saw Paul it was at Princeton University where he is a professor of economics -- and where he was speaking at a conference on the decline of liberal internationalism in American foreign policy. The meeting was organized by Charles Kupchan, G. John Ikenberry, Peter Trubowitz, and Anne-Marie Slaughter. While I was mesmerized by Krugman's comments, which were the best and most insightful in the conference, I also enjoyed learning that he reads TWN.

But if you are free and wake up early enough to join us, hearing Paul Krugman's views of the American and global economy -- and the sorry state of political realities that undergird these -- is an excellent way to spend any Monday morning.

The rest of the conference is intriguing as well. I will be moderating the Krugman session and much of the rest of the program along with my colleagues Bruce Stokes and Sherle Schwenninger.

Just drop my name at the door if you would like to attend the meeting. There is no charge (and we are actually serving lunch!)

The meeting will not be taped by C-Span which really wanted to record this but simply has too many cameras in the field. So, we will have a high quality recording posted (on this blog) late in the day.

-- Steve Clemons

Update: Read Paul Krugman's piece this morning in the New York Times, "Bursting Bubble Blues," about the pain on American citizens from the bursting housing bubble.