Campaign 2008

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other magazines
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Kosher Wars
The New York TimesMagazine examines the battle over food and religion.
Morgan Smith
posted Oct. 10, 2008
Getting Bitter All the Time
The New Republic on Sarah Palin's class resentment.
Morgan Smith
posted Oct. 7, 2008
Depression 2.0?
Time compares the current financial troubles to the Great Depression.
Daniel Riley
posted Oct. 3, 2008
Virginia Slim
The New Yorker on Barack Obama's push for Old Dominion.
Daniel Riley
posted Sept. 30, 2008
Bringing Down the House
The New York Times Magazine on deconstructing foreclosed homes.
Kara Hadge
posted Sept. 26, 2008
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other magazines: Summaries of what's in Time, Newsweek, etc.

Lieberman: Good for the Cubans?

By Jeremy Derfner
Updated Friday, Sept. 15, 2000, at 8:30 PM ET

New York Review of Books, Oct. 5

An article blasts the U.S. government for getting involved in the messy Colombian civil war. U.S. pols favor involvement so they can seem tough on drugs. Americans are funding the war on both ends, with foreign aid to the elected government and with drug profits to the guerrillas, and there is no end in sight. … Robert M. Solow argues that the budget surplus should go toward debt reduction (Al Gore), not tax cuts (George W. Bush). Paying down the debt will spur private investment, whereas tax slashing will spark private consumption and therefore inflation. … A review examines Woodrow Wilson's astonishing comeback. His vision of world government was an object of mirth during the Great Depression and the Cold War, but now we are all Wilsonians, interventionist free-traders exporting American values in the name of morality or democracy.

New Republic, Sept. 25

One cover story claims that George W. Bush is less compassionate than conservative. Preparing for his presidential run, he decided to bolster his right-wing credentials by pushing a parental notification bill on abortion (even though he had always been ambivalent about his anti-abortion stance before) and extremely harsh welfare reform (even though he had at first favored a much more progressive reform). … A companion piece explains why the media let Bush get away with selling himself as a moderate. Bush does not project the personal surliness that made Newt Gingrich so unpalatable. And his true conservatism rests in his economic policy instead of his social policy, and journalists care more about abortion and gay rights than tax reform. … An article argues that Joe Lieberman helps Gore more with Florida's Cubans than with its Jews. The Jews have always solidly supported Gore, but he has suffered badly among Cubans since the Elián González controversy. Lieberman has strong ties with the Cuban-American community (and supported their Elián position), while his counterpart, Dick Cheney, has opposed Cuban sanctions.

Economist, Sept. 16

The cover story questions the reigning pessimism about European economic prospects. Though the euro has slouched in comparison to the dollar, economic reforms such as lower taxes and more flexible job markets throughout the EU have prepared the continent for an IT revolution. Europe is no longer structurally incapable of American-style growth. … A piece reports that Muammar Qaddafi has styled himself the leader of a new Africa. He has promised to declare a United States of Africa next month, but Libyans by and large do not identify themselves as Africans, and Qaddafi's leadership skills are more suspect than ever. He has managed to turn the richest state in the region into a shambles. … An article claims that researchers have punched major holes in the theory that AIDS arrived in Africa via an oral polio vaccine, a notion pushed by Edward Hooper in his recent book The River. Other theories: 1) Deforestation in the middle of the century increased animal-human contact, and urbanization quickened the spread of the disease; and 2) in the 1930s, syringes became cheap enough for wide use but expensive enough to be reused, thus spreading the disease.

New York Times Magazine, Sept. 17

The "My First Year in New York" special issue. The cover story claims that despite the astronomical rents and the occasionally oppressive bustle, New York remains the destination for people who want to change their lives. Thirteen essays profile new New Yorkers. Author Salman Rushdie left London for New York after the Iranian government called off the fatwa against him because he believes he can write better novels there. Samantha Fishkin arrived at the NYU Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine after losing her memory in a car accident. Now she has constructed a completely new personality for herself. Mubenga Kanyinda fled the Congo after both his parents were murdered for political reasons, only to be detained again in New York and nearly deported back to Africa, where he would face certain death. Alex Aborlleile, a gay teen-age runaway from Florida, moved to New York to start his life but has struggled with drugs and prostitution.

Time, Sept. 18

The cover report criticizes Americans for failing to prepare for death. Afraid to discuss the taboo subject, sick people often die in hospitals when they'd rather be at home, in pain when they could be comfortable, and with burdensome medical bills when they wanted to save their families the expense. Solution: Switch from rescue medicine to hospice-style comfort care. … An article claims Gore surged in the polls because Bush, enamored by the nice-guy routine that seemed to be working, refused to put Gore away with attacks when he had the chance. Now Bush will have extra trouble catching up because his huge tax cut restricts his ability to propose bold policy initiatives. … A piece suggest that Slobodan Milosevic is preparing for war against Montenegro, Serbia's only partner in the Yugoslav Federation, because the small republic is threatening to push for independence. The United States, Montenegro's ally, could be forced to send troops against Milosevic again.

Newsweek, Sept. 18

The cover report marvels at America's racial diversity. The black-or-white duality no longer applies because Hispanic and Asian populations are exploding, and foreign workers are flooding in for high-tech jobs. The strong economy has probably reduced racial tensions to an all-time low. … A piece suggests that Gore's inability to run away with the election after Bush struggled for two terrible weeks shows his vulnerability. Bush has recast himself as the underdog and plans to launch a series of aggressive attacks. … An article reports that in the wake of the Wen Ho Lee investigation other Asian-American scientists have leveled accusations of prejudice against the Department of Energy.

U.S. News & World Report, Sept. 18

The cover story previews the new U.S. military, focusing on armored vehicles. The Cold War-era Abrams tank packs more punch than enemy weapons, but it's too heavy to transport easily. The new armored vehicles, though susceptible to enemy fire, will fit in cargo planes. Military reformers stress that intelligence will allow U.S. forces to strike early and win battles without head-on confrontations, but traditionalists worry about surrendering firepower dominance. … An article calls Pop.com, the movie Web site that folded last week, an emblem of Hollywood hubris. Sure that Paul Allen's money and Steven Spielberg's name would win customers, the Web site's developers neglected to draw up a working business model.

The New Yorker, Sept. 18

The style special issue. … A profile of Mario Testino, the Peruvian fashion photographer, claims that he rescued fashion from the grunge chic of the early-1990s. His critics call him artless, but his pics convey fun, sexiness, and commercialism. Testino "thinks the way a glossy magazine looks." … An article defends Maria Hsia, the Democratic activist taking the fall for Al Gore's Buddhist temple fiasco. The charges against her are shaky, but both the Democratic administration and congressional Republicans have pursued her for their own political ends. Charges (leveled by Bob Woodward) that she works for the Chinese government are ludicrous, because her family fled from the Communists to Taiwan and her grandfather was tortured during the Cultural Revolution. … A piece says Australia has a bad attitude about the Olympics. Locals are trying to get out of Sydney to avoid the crush of tacky tourists, and hotel workers and mail carriers threatened to strike for Olympic bonuses. Most city residents are more excited about the drag queens slated to march in the closing ceremonies than about the competitors.

The Nation, Sept. 18 and 25

The cover package compares rising Democratic scions Jesse Jackson Jr. and Patrick Kennedy. Jackson wants to revolutionize politics by amending the Constitution so it guarantees health care, affordable housing, and progressive taxation. Many of his Democratic colleagues criticize his unwillingness to compromise, but he accuses them of worrying too much about winning back the House. Ted Kennedy's son Patrick, on the other hand, is an intellectual lightweight whose selection as head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee had more to do with his family name than his political heft. He has obliterated Democratic fund-raising records by using "my father's Rolodex." … A piece claims that twice-prosecuted Russian environmentalist Alexandr Nikitin has become a hero to young Russians. Environmentalism is a growing concern in the wake of the Kursk disaster and Vladimir Putin's dissolution of the State Committee for Environmental Protection.

National Review, Sept. 25

The cover story admires the work ethic of "the rich and powerful," whom Al Gore has attacked. Wealthy entrepreneurs expand the economy and provide jobs for other Americans, and Gore's quasi-Marxist rhetoric against them serves only to sow resentment for Democratic electoral advantage. … A piece defends pharmaceutical companies, arguing that most recent medical advances have come from the private sector, not government-funded researchers. Gore's price controls would only slow the pace of innovation, and the sick will be forced to spend more money on medical bills when they should be spending less on drugs that could keep them out of hospitals. … An article blasts the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission for their hyperactive antitrust enforcement. Actions against gun manufacturers and the Visa-MasterCard merger smack of politics, not legitimate monopoly regulation.

Weekly Standard, Sept. 18

The cover package explains how Bush can win. … An article argues that he should drop his nonpartisan, personality-driven campaign for a conservative and Republican one. If he runs as a conservative, he can effectively paint Gore as a liberal, and if he runs as an ally of congressional Republicans, he can take some credit for the last eight years of growth. … A piece marvels at the Gore-Lieberman campaign's nifty escape from Clinton's moral shadow and argues that Bush must relink Gore to scandal by hammering away at the famous Gore miscues: "No controlling legal authority," the Buddhist temple, and his affirmation that Clinton has been one of America's "greatest presidents." … An article claims that the election will be won by the candidate who seems most forceful and manly. Especially during a campaign in which both candidates are remarkably similar on the issues, voters focus on how a candidate would react to crisis.