HOME / other magazines: Summaries of what's in Time, Newsweek, etc.

Mad-Cow Panic

By Jeremy DerfnerUpdated Friday, Dec. 1, 2000, at 8:30 PM ET

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Economist, Dec. 2

An editorial tells Gore to concede because "this is as clear a result as America is going to get in the time available," and because "a Gore victory now would be just as unfair, just as unreliable, as this Bush win." It also argues that the tiny victory margin will make Bush more effective by forcing him to scale back his more outlandish proposals. … A piece worries that Middle East violence could escalate as Israeli elections, scheduled for May, approach. Ehud Barak cannot afford to appear weak and may strike Palestinians harder in order to win center-right votes. … An article reports on the mad-cow disease panic spreading in Europe. Long considered a British problem, the disease has now struck Germany and Spain. The human illness linked to mad-cow disease, Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease, has also started appearing in France. Because of its long gestation period, experts have no idea how many people it may afflict.

New Republic, Dec. 11

The cover package analyzes the Republican shenanigans in Florida. One piece argues that while the Democrats put resources into legal strategy, the Republicans wisely focused on politics. GOP operatives organized the fake grass-roots protests that disrupted the Miami-Dade recount, and party luminaries from all over the country descended on Florida to bash the recount process. Now Bush has the presumption of victory. … Another article claims that the Republicans' response to events in Florida embodies their "paranoid style." They believe that all Democrats act corruptly and in concert to help Gore steal the election. The Gore team has been slightly more honest throughout the ordeal (he offered a statewide manual count and promised not to lobby electors), but the Republican scorched-earth policy is somehow winning the PR war. … A piece reports that Nader supporters abandoned their belief that Bush and Gore were one and the same the day after the election, one day too late. Green Party activists have been toeing the Gore line in Florida, inveighing against the evils of a Bush presidency. Only Nader himself seems still utterly convinced that it does not matter who wins.

New York Times Magazine, Dec. 3

A special issue about secrets. … A piece offers the prevailing theories about the secret formula for Coca-Cola (oils of lemon, orange, coriander, cinnamon), the identities of Deep Throat (Mark Felt) and Jack the Ripper (Dr. Francis Tumblety), the sexual orientation of Rudolph Valentino (probably gay), and what goes on at Area 51 (not much). … A piece tells the bizarre story of Ben Holmes, a Youngstown, Ohio, man who got mixed up with the mob and went on the lam for 20 years. He resurfaced when his remarried ex-wife, whom he may or may not have been living with, shot him in his sleep. Local police say he is an arsonist, but he claims corrupt police set him up in the late-1970s because he would not do business with them. … An article calls for an end to the unofficial moratorium on Chelsea Clinton journalism. When she was a child, the press corps left her alone for good reasons. Now reporters are scared to pursue her, even though she has made herself a public figure by appearing so often—and campaigning—with her parents.

Washington Monthly, December 2000

The cover story grades the Clinton presidency. Overall, he scores well for having the instincts to get things done even though he lacked a coherent vision. Clinton earns an A for his handling of the economy, especially his focus on debt reduction and cooperation with the Fed. He gets a B+ on domestic policy, a B on foreign policy, and a harsh C+ on "dealing with Washington." His great weakness (besides the obvious): Scared of Hillary, he listened to her bad advice on health care and Whitewater.

Time and Newsweek #2:http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,89435,00.html}}Time and Newsweek, Dec. 4

Identical election covers: "537" emblazoned over photos of Bush and Gore. … Time describes the increasingly bitter mood of the presidential struggle. Gore partisans supported him more than ever last week because they believe the Republicans are getting nastier (organizing the protests that disrupted the Miami-Dade recount, for instance), while Bush supporters believe the Florida Supreme Court decision to permit hand recounts was an unconstitutional overreach. Moderates who might like to strike a compromise have no wiggle room. … Newsweek focuses on how the Gore campaign plans to contest the election fight. Gore will argue that Miami-Dade County did not pursue a recount when it should have, that Palm Beach used a weak standard for divining voter intent, that Secretary of State Katherine Harris wrongly rejected the Palm Beach recount, and that one Republican county reverted to its original, pre-automatic recount total.

Time says the Palestinians have again changed tactics, abandoning demonstrations and attacks on Jewish towns for assaults on isolated Jewish settlers in the territories. Arafat hopes violence in the territories will lure international observers into the region and guarantee Palestinian security and favorable borders for an eventual Palestinian state.

Newsweek explains why labor tensions made Thanksgiving air travel even more nightmarish than usual. In August, United Airlines pilots won a 20 percent raise, and in response, pilots at other major airlines, flight attendants, and mechanics have organized slowdowns for higher pay. … A piece argues that the concept of global warming is gaining credibility among skeptics. Last week two formerly doubting senators, Larry Craig and Chuck Hagel, admitted that global warming exists, and scientists discovered thousands of penguins on the shores of Brazil, suggesting that ocean circulation has shifted cold currents north. Nevertheless, meetings to finalize the Kyoto global warming agreement collapsed.

U.S. News & World Report, Dec. 4

The cover package previews the Supreme Court arguments in the Florida case. The Bush claim: The Florida Supreme Court rewrote election law when it ordered hand recounts to continue. The Gore counterclaim: The court did not make new law; it only interpreted conflicting laws already on the books. If the Supreme Court rules against Gore, it will be hard for him to fight on. A companion article profiles the lawyers for each side, Harvard scholar Laurence Tribe for Gore and veteran Washington litigator Theodore Olson for Bush. Tribe has won 19 cases before the court and lost nine. Olson has won nine and lost four.

The New Yorker, Dec. 4

A piece laments the increasing litigiousness of presidential politics. Republicans who are supposed to believe in federalism filed the first court case in this campaign. Democrats cite precedent they have long decried in order to help their cause. Because the campaigns are so willing to go to court, the president will be picked by a judge, not by the voters. … An article claims that George W. Bush cannot achieve Texas-style bipartisanship in Washington. In Texas, most legislators from both parties tend toward the center, and ideology matters much less than constituent service. Washington is much less civil and much more partisan. … A piece describes the controversy over cleaning up the PCBs General Electric dumped in the Hudson River 25 years ago. GE has spent millions on lobbyists and scientists to delay a ruling by the Environmental Protection Agency, but the EPA is expected to order comprehensive dredging within the next few weeks. Now GE has started an anti-dredging advertising campaign and helped organize anti-dredging action committees.

Weekly Standard, Dec. 4

The cover story compares Al Gore to Aaron Burr, the 19^th-century politician who tried to steal the presidency from Thomas Jefferson, twice tried to establish breakaway countries and install himself as their president, and killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel. Like Burr, Gore possesses the megalomania, brutality, and caginess necessary to exploit a constitutional crisis for his personal advantage. (Next week: What Joe Lieberman learned from Benedict Arnold.) … A piece urges President Bush to use the Florida Supreme Court hand-recount ruling as the rallying point for a movement against judicial supremacy. The Bush campaign should eschew all legal remedies (opting instead to petition the Florida Legislature), and a Bush administration should take immediate aim at the trial lawyers. … A piece examines why soldiers hate Democrats so much, even though Gore is the most pro-military Democrat since Lyndon B. Johnson. Democrats led the charge against Vietnam and the Reagan military buildup, and now they have tried to open the armed forces to homosexuals.