Summaries of what's in Time, Newsweek, etc.

News Flash: TNR endorses Gore!

By Jeremy DerfnerUpdated Friday, Oct. 20, 2000, at 8:30 PM ET

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Rolling Stone, Nov. 9

The Al Gore cover interview shows the candidate as pedagogue. Gore carefully explains his China and Africa policies, obsessions with global warming and the high-tech industry, and his complex relationship with Bill Clinton. He also rants weirdly about putting a satellite between the Earth and the sun and says two of his favorite recent movies are The Matrix and Gladiator, violence notwithstanding. There are no really tough questions. ... A piece about O.J. Simpson and his agent reports how the Juice now makes his living autographing memorabilia. He must spend every cent he earns as soon as he gets it or Ron Goldman's father collects it as part of the $30 million verdict against him, but the market for O.J. memorabilia is drying up anyway.

New Republic, Oct. 30

Shocker of the year: The New Republic endorses Al Gore for president! Fooled by George W. Bush's pleasant demeanor, the press has ignored his intentions to privatize the last remnants of the New Deal, his isolationism, and his shaky grasp of the issues. If Bush wins, the editors write, "[i]t will be a sign that we are not living in a serious age." … A piece compares the strategies of the third-party candidates. Pat Buchanan is running hard in Democratic states like Massachusetts and Rhode Island, persuading conservatives to give him their vote so the Reform Party gets the 5 percent required for matching funding in 2004. Ralph Nader, on the other hand, has concentrated on the Pacific Northwest and Wisconsin, battleground states where his message resonates and where he could easily tilt the election to Bush. … An article blasts the Clinton policy on Iraq. Because he stumbled the first few times he tangled with Saddam Hussein, Clinton enforces sanctions laxly and has stopped aiding the Iraqi opposition. Both Bush and Gore support a tougher policy.

Reason, November 2000

The cover story argues that presidential candidates now strive to be ordinary men. Candidates used to tout only the personal characteristics—bravery and honor, for example—that elevated above the fray. Now, after the Cold War and with the advent of 24/seven media, candidates present their whole lives, warts and all, in an attempt to persuade voters to identify with them. Gore surged after his convention because of his infamous Tipper kiss and speeches by his daughter and best college buddy. The article suggests that Gore exaggerates his personal history because he is constantly tailoring it to what he thinks the public wants.

New York Times Magazine, Oct. 22

The cover story chronicles the most expensive congressional race ever, the suburban Los Angeles contest between impeachment prosecutor Rep. James Rogan and Adam Schiff, a Democratic state senator. The candidates raised almost $10 million with no trouble at all but have had a hard time spending it. Both campaigns concede that their TV ads have not moved the electorate, but keep airing them because they are not sure what else to do. … A piece previews Bush and Gore Supreme Courts with profiles of two leading contenders for the next judicial nomination. Many voters worry about the future of Roe v. Wade, but the real (if boring) issue is federalism—how much the courts will rein in federal power in local affairs. Possible Bush nominee J. Michael Luttig would reduce federal regulatory authority by narrowly interpreting the interstate commerce clause. Gore possibility David Tatel would rarely limit Congress. … A profile traces the decline of ex-heavyweight champion Riddick Bowe. Once viewed as the next Muhammad Ali, Bowe stopped training, lost the title, kidnapped his wife, and was diagnosed with brain damage.

Time and Newsweek, Oct. 23

Middle East covers. Time's cover is two already famous pictures—the bombed U.S.S. Cole and the Palestinian showing his bloody hands to the mob. Newsweek's cover shows an American soldier in a hospital bed in Yemen. … Both Yemen-bombing stories (click here for Time's and here for Newsweek's) focus on how difficult it is to control terrorism. America has no idea what groups were involved in the attack, though Osama Bin Laden is again a suspect. … Pieces analyze Yasser Arafat's approach to the crisis. He has come under fire at home for conceding too much, but the world criticizes him for not conceding enough. His grip on power is loosening as rank-and-file Palestinians shun his peace efforts and military leaders build their own political organizations. … Newsweek runs interviews with Benjamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak, neither of whom express much optimism about peace. … A Newsweek piece says it is too early to tell how the crisis will affect the presidential race. Gore has the advantage of incumbency, but he could be blamed for the failure of American efforts to broker peace. Bush still has a reputation for foreign-policy weakness, but his debate performance helped him. Bush would delegate authority to his advisers, while Gore, like Clinton, would take a leadership role in diplomacy.

The Newsweek poll has Bush and Gore deadlocked at 44 percent among registered voters, but Bush leads 45 percent to 43 percent among likely voters. Time argues that in such a close race, the election depends on get-out-the-vote operations in key states. The parties and interest groups that do a better job of stirring up their voters will win. The Democrats outmaneuvered the Republicans in 1996 and 1998, but the Republicans are spending a lot more this year.

U.S. News & World Report, Oct. 23

An article describes the gentlemen's agreement between Bush and Gore not to discuss certain hot-button issues such as abortion, privacy, gun control, and private-school vouchers. Both candidates believe they could be hurt by the issues. The third-party candidates campaign on the premise that the main parties are cheating voters out of a real national debate. … A piece reports that the huge surplus has contributed to reckless congressional spending. Discretionary spending this year will approach $650 billion, up from $575 billion just two years ago. … An article reports that in the age of cellular phones, it has gotten increasingly difficult to get a residential land line. Ameritech, which serves the Great Lakes states, has a backlog of 167,000 installation and repair orders. It has recently started refusing refund claims, citing acts of God as the reason for poor service.

Vanity Fair, November 2000

The music issue. … A Charlie Parker profile describes the birth of bebop music. Parker was steeped in the blues and swing traditions as a young Kansas City, Mo., saxophonist, but along with Dizzy Gillespie he abandoned the rhythmic orthodoxy of big band jazz, incurring the wrath of traditionalists. Parker's drug addiction ruined his career. His dual legacy: Jazz has become art music instead of dance music, and drugs are part of the jazz scene. … A piece reports on the resurgence of Bobby Darin. The only real talent among the saccharine post-Elvis rock generation that included Fabian and Paul Anka, Darin was smacked by critics for his cockiness. When he died of heart disease at age 37, he was largely discredited, but now Kevin Spacey is making a movie about him.

The Nation, Oct. 30

The cover story posits the existence of "market populism," a New Economy worldview that holds that the free market is the best expression of the will of the people because it is made up of all the people. An ideological descendent of the racial backlash populism of the 1970s and 1980s, market populism makes the working class believe their interests are the same as big business's and deludes them that government intervention is anti-populist elitism.

Weekly Standard, Oct. 23

The cover story blasts Al Gore's intellectual pretensions. His obsession with diagrams proves that he thinks in terms of abstractions, not people, which explains how he could use his sister's death and his son's near-death for political gain. … A piece sorts out the conflicting poll data floating around. The Gallup Poll, which swung 19 points in three days, was based on a flawed sample. In fact, Gore leads in enough states to win, but those leads are mostly within the margin of error, and Bush has been gaining ground since the debates. … The editorial theorizes that if Gore remains behind entering Tuesday's debate, he will challenge Bush on Middle East policy. He could abandon the Clinton administration's relatively evenhanded policy for a more pro-Israel policy and hope that Bush fails to keep up.

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