Sneakeasy/propaganda

The Nation Magazine was given birth to by Republicans, in the wake of the Civil War:

"The Nation will not be the organ of any party, sect, or body. It will, on the contrary, make an earnest effort to bring to the discussion of political and social questions a really critical spirit, and to wage war upon the vices of violence, exaggeration, and misrepresentation by which so much of the political writing of the day is marred.

-- from The Nation's founding prospectus, 1865"

By WW1 it's politics had become more "Progressive", and by WW2 it had become even more Left Leaning, however, as its politics evolved, one thing never changed: The quality of its journalism, and the voices of our culture, many of whom became famous in their fields of endeavor, that appeared within its pages.

Agree, or disagree, with what appears within its pages, this Conservative believes that this weekly magazine, still alive and well in the Age of the Internet, is well worth reading from time to time (I first read it, as a Reagan Democrat, in 1978).

EXIBIT A is this article that makes 3 importaint points:

"The Obama administration really needs to get over itself.

First, the president and his aides go to war with Fox News because the network maintains a generally anti-Obama slant.

Then, an anonymous administration aide attacks bloggers for failing to maintain a sufficiently pro-Obama slant.

These are not disconnected developments.

But before the president and his inner circle go all Spiro Agnew on us, they might want to consider three fundamental facts regarding relations between the executive branch and the fourth estate:

1. Since the founding of the republic, media outlets (the founders dismissed them as "damnable periodicals") have been partisan.

2. Presidents are supposed to rise above their own partisanship and engage with a wide range of media -- even outlets that are hard on their administrations.

3. The worst mistake a president or his administration can make is to try and "whip" relatively like-minded writers and reporters into line."