“The Great Gatsby” often tops the list of the best American novels. It’s a strange choice, really, but then maybe not. You would think the best novel would play out on the western frontier or take place during the Civil War or involve the Mississippi River or Plymouth Rock somehow. Instead, we get the landscapes of the swanky and a slice of the underclass. We get the idea that you might be able to change who you are if you just have enough money.

In the NYTimes this morning, Paul Krugman and Tim Egan are on the theme of “the rich are different” — or at least the Romney rich. Read their opinion columns here for Krugman and here for Egan, and get the NYT online or at your door if you want more of this kind of writing.

I wonder who will get figuratively “run over” in the end?