WELL WRITTEN VIEW FROM THE LEFT

As a liberal who lives in the heart of "the red zone" of West Texas (our current prez grew up 20 miles from where I live), I often feel like the proverbial pair of brown shoes in a roomful of tuxedos (a line I stole from George Gobel on the Tonight sometime in the 60's or 70's).

It is somewhat surprising therefore that I haven't subscribed to the "self-described flagship of the left", "The Nation" until a few weeks ago. I get most of my "liberal-leaning" fix each day by watching "Countdown" which I thoroughly enjoy. If fact, it is on "Countdown" that I saw the ad that convinced me to subscribe to "The Nation." (that and the frequent appearances of the magazine's Washington editor Christopher Hayes on the show).

"The Nation" was first published in 1865 in support of the Union victory of the Civil War. The magazine has undergone a number of changes over the years but it has maintained a "left" point of view for all of its existence. In fact, it was honored to have been investigated by the FBI in the height of J. Edgar Hoover's paranoia about Communism (of course Hoover considered anyone who disagreed with him about anything to be a Commie).

In the last seven years, the magazine has consistently attacked George Bush for his right-wing policies which really didn't come to full fruition until after 9/11.

I was thrilled that the first copy of the magazine that I received concerned turning Texas blue. This thought would have been inconceivable as recently as 2004. However, as the excellent article pointed out, the Republicans in Texas have been so red-necked that Democrats have made significant inroads into former conservative strongholds as Dallas. The article points out that the excellent Democratic organization and joint fund-raising for candidates in Dallas led to the defeat of every Republican judicial candidate plus the District Attorney and Sheriff.

The magazine has regular columns such as Calvin Trillin's "Deadline Poet" (this week Trillin discusses Phil Gramm's "whiner" statement); Eric Alterman's "The Liberal Media"; Gary Younge's "Beneath the Radar" plus articles on "Books & the Arts".

The magazine also contains a section entitled "Editorials & Comment" which discusses opinions on a variety of subjects. While the magazine is obviously liberal, this week's editorial by editor Hayes entitled "Obama and Iraq" shows that the magazine is also willing to criticize Democrats. Hayes does say that it is imperative that Obama be elected but he is fairly critical of some of Obama's recent statements about Iraq. He wants Obama to stand by his firm commitment to withdraw troops from a war which the magazine has opposed since it's inception.

The magazine is weekly for most of the year (exceptions are in January and July through September when it's bi-weekly).

Each edition of the magazine also contains lead stories. This week, for example, there is an excellent article about MoveOn.com which discusses where the famous liberal website has been and where it is going. The other lead story concerns the advantages and disadvantages for minority journalists on the web.

Obviously, this magazine is not for Bush loyalists or conservatives. Arguably, it's not for moderates either unless they don't mind the liberal slant. However, I have found the articles to be well written and researched. There are conservative magazines for those so inclined.

"The Nation" has a circulation of 184,000 per week but it has lost money for almost its entire existence. Fortunately, there are "benefactors" who contribute to the magazine so that the liberal agenda can still be communicated to the U.S. population.

FIVE STARS