Paul Krugman assesses the S & P downgrade, and reminds us of their track record:"On one hand, there is a case to be made that the madness of the right has made America a fundamentally unsound nation. And yes, it is the madness of the right: if not for the extremism of anti-tax Republicans, we would have no trouble reaching an agreement that would ensure long-run solvency."On the other hand, its hard to think of anyone less qualified to pass judgment on America than the rating agencies. The people who rated subprime-backed securities are now declaring that they are the judges of fiscal policy? Really?"As with the sub-prime crisis, Krugman argues that they don't have their numbers right. "In short, S&P is just making stuff up and after the mortgage debacle, they really dont have that right."