The war has been great for the news magazines. Time’s Person of the Year issue was particularly good. Great call on Giuliani. The first credible insider reporting from the White House on the war as well. I learned – or relearned – one thing from both features. Rudy and Dubya are the same men they have always been. There has been no ‘transformation’ from within. Rudy hasn’t suddenly found a heart. Bush hasn’t suddenly found a brain. This isn’t the Wizard of Oz. Both were highly capable managers with skill and compassion before and after September 11. All that day did was reveal these qualities under immense scrutiny and enormous pressure. I was particularly interested to see the war’s time-line in Time. There was no sudden U-turn in the middle of the campaign. The war-plan was the same from the beginning to the end, with merely tactical adjustments. Bush wasn’t dilly-dallying until he read the editorials in the Weekly Standard and the New Republic. He was executing a shrewd war-plan and never lost his nerve. The public gets this. That’s why he’s riding not just a poll high but a deep bonding between him and the people of this country. Eventually, the press will see this. Time’s reporting suggests some are seeing it already.
CHRISTMAS BREAK: The dish will be light and al dente this week. I’m recuperating from excessive socializing in New York, and struggling through my usual Christmas alienation. Man, I get so blue this time of year. I’m not taking a planned vacation next week, and will be chilling out at home instead. Normal service will resume January 3, when we hope to launch the redesign for the New Year. Until then, do check in, because I’ll post when the feeling strikes.
The Dish 