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Walter Shapiro and Jodi Kantor

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from: Walter Shapiro

Talking the Talk

Posted Monday, Aug. 2, 1999, at 10:56 AM ET

Dear Jodi,

My high-minded self desperately wants to begin our week with an in-depth discussion of the troubling article on the back page of this morning's Wall Street Journal entitled "Drop in Food-Stamp Rolls Is Mysterious and Worrisome." This story, triggered by a GAO report out this week, is a cautionary reminder of the unintended consequences of Bill Clinton's signing the Republican welfare bill. Amid all the triumphant rhetoric about the orderly transition from welfare to work, it seems that many people who are still entitled to food stamps aren't getting them for reasons that include ignorance, new state restrictions, and the general down-with-the-welfare-state ethos of the age.

But try as I might, my tabloid sensibility keeps being drawn back to the flap over Hillary Clinton's interview with Lucinda Franks in the debut issue of Talk. (I particularly love the discreet four paragraphs buried on Page A-10 that the New York Times devoted to this topic in my edition of today's paper.) Like everything else about Hillary, the interpretation of this interview completely depends on your pre-existing opinions of her. For example, the Murdoch-owned, Hillary-hating New York Post has a vintage headline on their second-day story, "Shrinks: Hillary's Got Poor Excuse for Hubby." Meanwhile, the Mort Zuckerman-owned, pro-Clinton Daily News finds different "experts" who claim that HRC's "analysis was probably correct when she said her husband's philandering was rooted in an emotionally abused childhood." Personally, I pity New Yorkers (myself included) who will be emotionally abused by every element of this Senate race. But I also cannot help but be awed by Tina Brown's ability to dominate the news.

One last thought on the Times lead story on the demise of the Christian Coalition as a potent political force. As someone who covers politics, I've long been amused by the cult that surrounded Ralph Reed and the Christian Coalition. I'm referring not to born-again Christians but to political reporters. Uncomfortable with religion and culturally out-of-step with fundamentalism, the boys and girls on the campaign buses overhyped a phenomenon that they didn't understand--the rise of the Christian Right. Only now are the Times and the rest of the press belatedly offering a corrective revision.

Many more thoughts, but I should get about the business of getting these yawn-filled, Monday-morning reflections posted.

Eagerly awaiting your response,

Walter

the breakfast table
entries
12345678910111213141516171819
from: Walter Shapiro

Talking the Talk

Posted Monday, Aug. 2, 1999, at 10:56 AM ET
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Walter Shapiro is the political columnist for USA Today. Jodi Kantor is an associate editor at Slate.
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