Last December, when the Blue and White interviewed Nobel laureate and Columbia professor Joseph Stiglitz, we entitled it “The Fortuneteller.” Now, according to Newsweek, though many economists also admire Stiglitz’s predictive abilities, he’s not getting any love in Washington.

Calling him “the most misunderstood man in America,” Newsweek contrasts Stiglitz’s reputation overseas, where “he is received like a superstar, a modern-day oracle,” with his unpopularity at home. Tellingly, Stiglitz did advise a world leader before this past spring’s G20 meetings, but it wasn’t Obama – it was Britain’s Gordon Brown. The possible explanations number several, including Stiglitz’s support for an international reserve currency, his distrust of unregulated markets (neither idea exactly popular in the United States), and his rivalry with Obama economic adviser/former Harvard president Larry Summers.

Then again, perhaps Obama just really wants to snub Columbia, and poor Joe’s just caught in the crossfire (photo: apesphere/Flickr).