Taking stock of people and ideas in the news.

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• Black Like Whom? The real reasons African-Americans support Clinton.
  Brent Staples Oct. 25, 1998
  
• The Leonard Cohen of World Lit José Saramago, novelist.
  Sarah Kerr Oct. 18, 1998
  
• The Weinsteins Moguls of the old school.
  Franklin Foer July 18, 1998
  
• Nerd vs. Nebbish Who's the bigger loser?
  Franklin Foer July 11, 1998
  
• Master P The rap star as hack.
  David Plotz July 4, 1998
  
• Sen. John McCain The media want him to be president. It's a bad idea.
  David Plotz June 28, 1998
  
• Slobodan Milosevic How a genocidal dictator keeps getting away with it.
  Franklin Foer June 20, 1998
  
• NRA President Charlton Heston He has played presidents. Can he be one?
  David Plotz June 14, 1998
  
• Tina Brown The queen of spin is spun.
  David Plotz June 7, 1998
  
• Hunter S. Thompson Stuck Punk.
  David Plotz May 31, 1998
  
• Marion Barry Indonesia's not the only place whose dictator is leaving.
  David Plotz May 24, 1998
  
• Larry Bird Is he as good a coach as he was a player?
  David Plotz May 17, 1998
  
• Oscar Wilde Why the 1890s insurgent has made a 1990s comeback.
  David Plotz May 10, 1998
  
• The Republican Presidential Hopeful How to run for president--two years early.
  David Plotz May 3, 1998
  
• Edgar Bronfman, Edgar Bronfman Overrated father, misunderstood son.
  David Plotz April 26, 1998
  
• George F. Will He can't be Walter Lippmann; maybe he should be baseball commissioner.
  David Plotz April 19, 1998
  
• Henry Louis Gates Jr. The academic as entrepreneur.
  Franklin Foer April 12, 1998
  
• Bill Moyers The importance of being earnest.
  David Plotz April 5, 1998
  
• Major League Soccer America's Un-American Sports League
  David Plotz March 29, 1998
  
• Jerry Springer Once the talk show host was mayor of Cincinnati. Now he's mayor of Sodom.
  David Plotz March 22, 1998
  
• Joe Eszterhas How did a B-movie screenwriter become an A-list celebrity?
  David Plotz March 15, 1998
  
•   Bob Dylan Why he's still with us.
  David Plotz March 8, 1998
  
•   Kofi Annan Surprise! A decent U.N. secretary-general.
  David Plotz March 1, 1998
  
• Rep. Bob Barr He shouts what his fellow Republicans won't even whisper: Impeach Clinton!
  David Plotz Feb. 22, 1998
  
• Winnie-the-Pooh The bear belongs to America.
  David Plotz Feb. 15, 1998
  
•    Betty Currie The plight of the presidential secretary.
  David Plotz Feb. 8, 1998
  
• Oprah Winfrey A love letter to the beef hater.
  Seth Stevenson Feb. 8, 1998
  
• All the President's Women Are you his type?
  David Plotz Jan. 29, 1998
  
• Sen. John Glenn Why he's earned his space vacation.
  David Plotz Jan. 25, 1998
  
• The (Not Yet) Around-the-World Balloonists Adventurers for an age without adventure.
  David Plotz Jan. 18, 1998
  
• Chief Justice William Rehnquist Mr. Efficiency.
  David Plotz Jan. 11, 1998
  
• Geraldine Ferraro Geraldine Ferraro
  David Plotz Jan. 2, 1998