Time, July 30 The no-nonsense cover story on what the U.S. should do next in Iraq argues that “in a world of bad options, a phased withdrawal is the least bad one out there.” It’s unreasonable to stay indefinitely, since support for the war is extremely low, but Shiite militias will take over Baghdad if we leave immediately. If, however, just half of the 160,000 troops currently stationed in Iraq retreat by the middle of next year, we’ll have enough combat power to “deter outside actors” from worsening the situation. Plus, we’ll get the chance to rebuild our reputation overseas. … An article assesses the latest beachwear fad: the modesty-minded burqa swimsuit or “burqini.” Some conservative Muslims think the neck-to-ankle outfit still shows too many curves, and feminists argue that “burqas in any form are offensive to women.” But liberal-minded Muslim women, conservative Christians, senior citizens, and cancer patients absolutely love them.— J.L.
Economist, July 21 An opinion piece reviews unlikely Mexican political heavy-hitter Elba Esther Gordillo. Known popularly as “La Maestra,” she leads the National Educational Workers’ Union, the largest labor union in Latin America. But the article argues that her “stranglehold” over the country’s schools is not a good thing. Mexico’s educational system languishes while Gordillo maintains control through an “unwritten—and maybe even implicit—agreement” with President Felipe Calderón. This tacit partnership is damaging Mexico’s economic future. But should the president attempt to challenge La Maestra’s power, he will face perhaps the “most difficult political confrontation of his presidency.”… A commentary follows the “swift-trucking” of would-be Republican nominee Rudy Giuliani. The International Association of Fire Fighters recently released a 13-minute video detailing Giuliani’s shortcomings, including supplying firemen with radios that malfunctioned during 9/11—allegedly causing many to miss evacuation orders broadcast before the second tower fell.— M.S.
New York Times Magazine, July 22 The cover story argues laws requiring many sex offenders to register publicly do more harm than good when applied to “adolescent” offenders, who are sometimes as young as 10. One therapist blames our overzealous and underresearched crusade against pedophilia for the problem: “We were desperately trying to bring attention to the issue … and we went way overboard.”… An article profiles Texas Sen. Ron Paul, the no-shot presidential candidate. Paul’s most distinguishing feature is his “habit of objecting to things no one else objects to,” like in 1999, when “he was the only naysayer in a 424-1 vote in favor of casting a medal to honor Rosa Parks.” His campaign has become a “clearing-house for the voters who feel unrepresented by mainstream Republicans and Democrats,” or as one campaign coordinator put it, “every wacko fringe group in the country”—everyone from neo-Nazis to those who believe the owners of the Federal Reserve “do mock human sacrifices to an owl-god called Moloch.” Paul comes off as a vaguely backward but mostly inscrutable curmudgeon who seems utterly unable (and perhaps unwilling) to distance himself from his motley constituency.— A.B.
New York, July 23
A cover story profiles New York Gov. Eliot “I’m a fucking steamroller” Spitzer. Although its characterization of Spitzer as the condescending, belligerent idealist is sometimes too convenient, the piece is an absorbing retrospective on Eliot’s personal history (brilliant, demanding father; long political arguments at the dinner table) and political psychology. The gamesmanship of state lawmaking is on full display here, and the piece plays out Eliot’s battle with State Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno as a back-and-forth, complete with name-calling and point-tallying. … An opinion piece looks at the recent John McCain campaign meltdown, arguing that, while Republicans may be happy now, “McCain’s marginalization leaves them all … short of ideas and gravitas, let alone convictions.” McCain’s only hope now is a kind of eked-out resuscitation as “the Republican John Edwards,” which, as the piece rightly points out, is a shame: For all McCain’s shortcomings, “no one can dispute that he’s a serious man, with serious ideas, who would have seriously changed the GOP.”— K.E.
New Republic, July 23 The cover story reveals Fred Thompson’s curious effect on “giggling soccer moms in too-tight cocktail frocks.” Infected with “Fred Fever,” the GOP is rolling to have its belly scratched by the candidate that “exudes old school masculinity.” The piece questions, however, how much of the Law & Order actor’s much-touted no-nonsense brand of leadership is substance or—wait for it—an act. But the commentary really picks up speed when it singles out the Weekly Standard’s Stephen Hayes and NBC’s Chris Matthews as guilty of “getting high on the smell of [Thompson’s] testosterone.”… An article reviews the bizarre and politically costly mishaps of the “Brothers Rodham” and wonders at older sister Hillary’s reluctance to pipe up in public against them. Look forward to one Tony and Hugh get-rich-quick scheme that involves hazelnuts, $118 million, a Mafioso, and a former Soviet republic.—M.S.
Newsweek, July 23
An article neatly recaps the current stalemate over troop withdrawal from Iraq. More Republican politicians are coming to terms with the “no-win” reality in Iraq—now, “[t]he question is not whether America can win, but rather how to get out.” The complications caused by a shaky Iraqi administration, ongoing civil violence, and the logistics of changing military strategy make getting out seem “just as horrendous as staying in.”… The cover story about the new ways to revive cardiac arrest patients is informative enough, but the most engaging feature is the online photo gallery, where readers can click through afterlife drawings from other people’s near death experiences. … An opinion piece calls ESPN the US Weekly of sports networks—“the network seems hellbent on sanctifying athletes, rather than merely covering them, because it’s good business for both.” Citing the new “Who’s Now” segment of SportsCenter, the piece accuses the network of trading solid reporting for “athlete-centric idol worship.” But most sports fans are probably just fine with ESPN keeping its coverage “athlete-centric.”— K.E.
The New Yorker, July 23
A mammoth profile tells the story of real-estate and publishing world mogul Mort Zuckerman. It’s difficult to imagine an audience for this corporate narrative on how Zuckerman accumulated his fortune. He possesses neither the shamefully entertaining tastelessness of a Trump nor the brio of a Branson. The best passage is a history of his romantic past (featuring Nora Ephron, Arianna Huffington, and Gloria Steinem), which gives a taste of how the billionaire conducts himself on a date. Hint: He likes talking about himself. … Oliver Sacks investigates the story of a man who became obsessed with piano music after being struck by lightning. It’s the predictable yet endlessly entertaining Sacks formula: First, he lays down the story with a heavy dose of the victim’s own lay explanations (“It began to dawn on him that perhaps he had been ‘saved’ for a special purpose”), and then he brings out the big science guns (sensory limbic hyperconnection, huh?), only to pull back at the last moment: “[T]he music, however it had come, was a blessing, a grace—not to be questioned.”— A.B.
Weekly Standard, July 23 Stephen F. Hayes’cover story on Dick Cheney—an excerpt from his upcoming biography of the vice president—attempts to humanize Cheney by presenting snapshots of actions during key moments of the Bush administration. Cheney laughingly recalls waiting with Al Gore for Bill Clinton to finish his presidential pardons on the last day of his administration. He revisits his authorization for military fighters to shoot down passenger planes on 9/11 and remembers other tough calls made regarding the Iraq war. Cheney faces his record squarely and always concludes that “it was the right call.” But ultimately, the piece presents no new information. … Fred Barnes explains why President Bush is “the most steadfast guy at the White House, and the least willing to sugarcoat the case for the war.” Bush has repeatedly ditched the carefully worded segments prepared by his aides for Iraq speeches because he’s “focusing on the high stakes and the perils of defeat” rather than surrendering ground.— D.S.
