Economist, March 13
(posted Saturday, March 13, 1999)
The cover story foretells the possible demise of the "Euro-American partnership that repeatedly saved the 20th century from disaster." Europe calls American political and economic power overbearing, and the United States is wearying of its protector role. Even so, the two will probably ally themselves against brewing trouble in China, Russia, and the Islamic states. ... The secretary-general of NATO defends the alliance's policies against charges of incoherence. In order to preserve post-Cold War relevance, the alliance needs 1) tight European-American cooperation; 2) beefed-up European responsibility for security; and 3) continued expansion of membership to Eastern European nations. ... The magazine calls Libya's expected settlement in the Lockerbie bombing case a triumph of diplomacy. After being lobbied by the likes of Nelson Mandela and Kofi Annan, Muammar Qaddafi may finally concede to the extradition and trial of two terrorists. In exchange, the West would lift its sanctions against Libya.
New Republic, March 29
(posted Friday, March 12, 1999)
A cover package on science and race. One cover story applauds the long-term investments that some Silicon Valley companies and historically black colleges are making in training minority students for high-tech jobs. The programs, which start early and feature intensive mentoring and peer support, are a limited but meaningful step in reversing black underrepresentation in high-tech industries. ... The other, more alarmist, cover piece decries the underrepresentation of young, U.S.-born scientists in American graduate school labs. Foreign degree candidates don't speak English well enough to teach effectively, edge their American peers out of the field, and may eventually return to their native lands, brain-draining American research. ... The "TRB" column says George Stephanopoulos is feigning innocence and false injury in his new book. The columnist has not actually read the book. He does, however, criticize Stephanopoulos' 1982 college graduation speech.
New York Times Magazine, March 14
(posted Thursday, March 11, 1999)
The cover story calls Amazon.com a carefully crafted mirage. Founder Jeff Bezos has promised investors and employees a retail revolution, but Amazon's stock price and lofty ideals may be deflated by competition, overvaluation, and all the old-economy difficulties of the retail trade. ... The magazine profiles Zinedine Zidane, French soccer star, son of Algerian immigrants, and symbol-elect of a newly heterogeneous France. Zidane's "cooler," "more modern," and "more inventive" style of play is supposed to be a metaphor for France's blossoming multiculturalism, but he is reluctant to be a French hero, and French racism runs very deep. ... A long piece chronicles the harrowing experience of a family who unknowingly adopted a schizophrenic son. The son struggled to find his birth mother's medical history, which had been withheld by the adoption agency, and committed suicide when he learned of her terrible mental illness. A generation ago, adoption agencies considered mental illness to be strictly a product of poor upbringing, and too private and unpleasant to disclose to prospective parents.
Time and Newsweek, March 15
(posted Tuesday, March 9, 1999)
The covers of Time and Newsweek feature tell-alls by Clinton insiders about their bruising stints in the White House. Newsweek excerpts George Stephanopoulos' new book, which repeats the standard criticism of the president ("a complicated man responding to the pressures and pleasures of public life in ways I found both awesome and appalling"). Stephanopoulos is kinder to the first lady, whom he depicts as passionate and strong. Among the juiciest scenes: Mario Cuomo refusing a Supreme Court seat 15 minutes before Clinton officially offered it to him and National Security Adviser Tony Lake teaching the president how to salute properly.
Time's White House insider: Monica Lewinsky. There is a soft-focus Monica on the cover, and there are softball questions inside ("You signed your first book yesterday. What was that like?" "Is it easier to be anonymous in New York City than in Los Angeles?"). When asked if she believes Juanita Broaddrick's allegations, Lewinsky opines that it was a mutually consensual but "unpleasant" encounter for Broaddrick: "Twenty years ago, women were not apt to say no." A sidebar says Monica combed Gennifer Flowers' autobiography for tips on how to seduce the president.
Speaking of White House advisers, Time excerpts Henry Kissinger's account of his years as Nixon's secretary of state. Without even a passing reference to the current president, Kissinger calls his former boss "politically astute yet prone to self-destructive acts; deeply patriotic yet wont to hazard his achievements on tawdry practices." Nixon's reputation for double-dealing came from his fear of confrontation, and Watergate stemmed from his tendency to give wildly impractical orders that he never really wanted implemented.
U.S. News & World Report, March 15
(posted Tuesday, March 9, 1999)
U.S. News' cover analyzes the ever-accelerating presidential candidacy of George W. Bush. Time and Newsweek run Bush stories, too. All three have the same take: Bush's greatest liability as a candidate is his air of inevitability, which exposes him to an upset in the primaries. When asked to comment on Elizabeth Dole, Bush tellsU.S. News, "I think Bob Dole is really one of the really good men." U.S. News also surveys the rest of the Republican field, calling Dole "a superachiever ... who battled sexism ... and lived out feminist ideals perhaps even more consistently than women who wear feminism on their sleeves like, say, Hillary Rodham Clinton."
The New Yorker, March 15
(posted Tuesday, March 9, 1999)
A reverent profile of John le Carré defends him from the lowly designation of "spy novelist" and bemoans his under-recognition in literary circles. ... A piece describes how Eric Rudolph, the fugitive accused of bombing the Atlanta Olympics and several abortion clinics, has become a folk hero in the rural North Carolina mountains where he is being sought. Fundamentalist locals identify with and may even be protecting Rudolph because they view his pursuit as part of a government conspiracy to oppress them. ... An article recounts the murder of a Guatemalan bishop and human rights activist, committed just after the publication of his damning report on the army's record of political killings. In a campaign to discredit church-led human rights investigations, government and army authorities spun the murder as a homosexual crime of passion, resulting in the arrest and (finally abandoned) prosecution of one of the bishop's colleagues.
Weekly Standard, March 15
(posted Tuesday, March 9, 1999)
For the second week in a row, the lead editorial calls for an investigation of and attention to the Juanita Broaddrick story. ... A conservative pundit argues that feminism is dead and that the president is to blame. He has dealt a mortal blow to the women's movement by forcing Democratic and feminist leaders to ignore his commission of sexual harassment and rape. ... The magazine profiles California congressman and former House Manager James Rogan, a possible contender for Sen. Diane Feinstein's seat in 2000 and the savior-elect of California's Republican Party.