Economist , Feb. 7
(posted
Saturday, Feb. 7)
A
cover editorial pegged to Tony Blair's U.S. visit argues
that he and Bill Clinton are not as similar as they seem. While they share
broad principles (fiscal responsibility, free trade, etc.) and political
tactics (artful repackaging of conservative ideas), Blair is much more
left-wing than Clinton (as Britain is much more left-wing than the United
States). Blair has banned all handguns and favors Britain's national
health-care system, policies that would be inconceivable for Clinton.
... A piece dampens enthusiasm about recent rises in Asia's stock
markets: Asian economies are still in dire shape and governments are not doing
nearly enough to restore fiscal stability. ... Also, a long survey on
Central Asia. Conclusion: oil and chaos.
New
Republic , Feb. 23
(posted
Friday, Feb. 6)
The cover
package reiterates TNR 's line that the United States should try to
overthrow Saddam Hussein. One piece argues that anything short of toppling
Saddam would be pointless: Iraq will be recalcitrant till he falls. (It also
notes that Turkey and our Arab allies don't favor U.S. military intervention
nearly as much as they did during the Gulf War: We'll have to go it alone.)
Another article says the United States should not limit itself to a few days of
bombing (the current battle plan): Only a long, insistent air campaign will
persuade Saddam's troops to attempt a coup. ... A story mocks a
right-wing, Clinton-hating group called Commission to Restore the Presidency to
Greatness: One leading member predicted that Bill Clinton would announce that
he was a woman ("Wilma Clinton") during a guest appearance on Ellen .
New
York Times Magazine , Feb. 8
(posted
Thursday, Feb. 5)
Would-be
Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa is a pale imitation of his father, argues the
cover profile. Hoffa fils shares his father's virulent
anti-federal-government streak, but he lacks Dad's fire, organizing skill, and
toughness. Hoffa will likely win the next Teamsters election, but the union is
too weakened by corruption and too bullied by management and the feds to be the
force it once was. ... A survey of suburban Americans finds they are
tolerant of atheists, people of other races, working mothers--everyone but
gays. Reason: They consider homosexuality an active choice. If they believed
homosexuality was innate, they'd tolerate gays, too. ... A photo essay
depicts Dzerzhinsk, Russia, the world's "least-habitable," most-polluted city.
Once the center of Soviet chemical-weapons production, it has a reservoir of
toxic waste called the "White Sea." Life expectancy for its 300,000 residents:
47 years for women, 42 years for men.
Time and Newsweek , Feb. 9
(posted
Tuesday, Feb. 3)
Lewinsky, Week 2:
Newsweek 's cover story is "The Secret Sex Wars"; Time's is Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr. Inside both
magazines: maps of the connections in the alleged "right-wing
conspiracy" against Clinton, profiles of Al Gore (steely-eyed in this time of crisis), and
still more pop-psychologizing about Clinton's personality.
Newsweek 's package
tracks the "secret war" behind the scenes, where Clinton's staffers, lawyers,
and private detectives labor to contain bimbo eruptions. It runs several new
pictures of Lewinsky, including two that are embarrassingly revealing. An
article says other nations might turn to Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin for
stability while Clinton reels. Rubin is calm and confident. A piece argues that
the media should stop reporting on the scandal because the public has spoken in
favor of the president. Wag the Dog director Barry Levinson writes that
his movie was just a joke but compares Hillary Clinton's allegation of a
right-wing conspiracy to the distraction ploys found in the film.
Time 's profile of Kenneth Starr depicts him as conservative,
overzealous, and nerdy. In junior high, "his hobby was polishing shoes," says
his mom. Time also wonders how the scandal will affect kids. From one 10-year-old
pundit: "I would rather see happy news. About Leonardo DiCaprio." A Time
rundown of how the scandal played across the world includes these words from a
Thai government spokesman: "Great leaders are very good at sex: Cleopatra,
Genghis Khan, Napoleon, Mao Zedong. Clinton is also a capable leader, so it is
normal for him to be very good at sex." ... Also in Time , an
essay makes the case for human cloning. The risk is small,
and cloning could benefit victims of Parkinson's disease, leukemia, and severe
burns.
U.S.
News & World Report , Feb. 9
(posted
Tuesday, Feb. 3)
The cover
package on the president's swift comeback asserts that a right-wing conspiracy does exist, though it is less monolithic
than Hillary Clinton suggests. An essay claims the independent counsel wields too much power:
Starr's current investigation is an unconstitutional invasion of privacy.
Psychiatrist Peter Kramer ( Listening to Prozac ) says the same
qualities that make Clinton a good politician (risk-taking, abundant energy,
and narcissism) make him a likely womanizer. ...
U.S. News finds
a new marketing ploy for classical music: The Mediaeval Baebes
perform Gregorian chants, wear flimsy garb, and chat about all things gothic.
Just like the Spice Girls, each baebe has a nickname. (Our favorite: Dragon
Baebe.)
The
New Yorker , Feb. 9
(posted
Tuesday, Feb. 3)
The
Clintons' marriage is "stupefyingly weird" but founded on genuine passion,
affection, and respect, argues a piece. She's not loyal for cold political
reasons, she's loyal because she " 'literally decides that she believes him.' "
... The magazine publishes a reconstructed image of Kennewick Man, the
9,000-year-old Caucasoid skeleton found in Washington state. (He is evidence
that Caucasians settled North America before American Indians.) Based on the
clay model, Kennewick man looked like the actor Patrick Stewart. ...
Karla Faye Tucker, the pickax murderer scheduled for execution today, is
profiled. Once a drug-addled, vicious "Miss Tough Guy," she is now smart,
sweet, good, and truly religious. (For more on the story, see what the international papers are saying.)
Weekly Standard , Feb. 9
(posted
Tuesday, Feb. 3)
A
10-story, glee-filled cover package. (Cover headline: "Yow!"; cover image:
Clinton as a centaur, cavorting with naked girls on the White House lawn.) A
piece proposes Clinton's best-case "alternative narrative": He bonded with
Lewinsky over her unhappy childhood and gave her career advice; she became
obsessed with him and sent him gifts; he tried to help her while gradually
pushing her away. The problem with the story: It's not credible, given
Clinton's sexual history. ... Two weeks after U.S. News and
Time gushed about "Clintonism," the Standard offers its own
definition (pegged to the State of the Union): "Clintonism transforms your most
parochial worries into matters of state," dealing with picayune issues rather
than genuine ones. The Republican Party--"Clintonism lite"--is just as vapid.
... An article upbraids some conservatives for their anti-American
foreign policy. Libertarians say America should stop wasting money on imperial
power, and cultural conservatives say America should stop exporting its
horrible values to the rest of the world. They're both wrong, says the
Standard .
The
Nation , Feb. 16
(posted
Tuesday, Feb. 3)
The
Nation shrugs about the scandal. General takes: 1) The sex was consensual.
2) Kenneth Starr is corrupt and ideological. 3) The punditocracy is ignoring
the real story (Starr's Grand Inquisition) in favor of salacious sex. 4)
Lewinsky is payback for Clinton's real sins--the destruction of social welfare
and support for the death penalty. ... Ex-Labor Secretary Robert Reich,
who wrote a piece in last week's New York Times Magazine about the need
to renew America's social compact, writes a piece about the need
to renew America's social compact. While America is prosperous, we should
reduce inequality, strengthen public education, etc.
--Seth
Stevenson
