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Timothy Noah and Marjorie Williams

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Photojournalism

By Timothy Noah
Posted Monday, July 6, 1998, at 5:59 PM ET

Dear Marjorie,

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As usual, I accept without question your sharp analysis of l'affaire Burleigh. Except: I don't think I am a pig for wanting to know what Burleigh looks like. This Mirabella story isn't about Most Favored Nation status for China; it isn't even about a woman feeling victimized by an inappropriate sexual advance from her president (and I hasten to add that a brief, sexually-charged moment of the type she described--and, conceivably, only imagined--does not constitute an inappropriate sexual advance). It's (in part) about glorying in your sexual attractiveness. Also about the president's taste in women. So sue me, I want to know what she looks like. Plus, she told Howie Kurtz "I'd be happy to give him [oral sex] just to thank him for keeping abortion legal." (Is this a line Mirabella edited out of the story?) That alone should get us a peek.

I've done a little research and am informed that, yes, Nina Burleigh is cute.

Incidentally, I need to revise slightly my disquisition on the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers. I've now been told that since Albert Shanker's death the AFT has backed off a bit from education reform, while the NEA has taken a few steps toward reform. So conceivably it was a BAD thing that the unions didn't merge. The larger point remains that the papers didn't give us much help on any of this today.

Sorry to hear about Roy Rogers.

Happy Trails,

Tim

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