I wouldn't call Joe Klein, the man who wrote that lead article, a flaming conservative.
Nor would I call Michael Kinsely or any of their other regular contributors particularly conservative. It's well known that TIME is hardly biased toward the GOP. In fact, those two covers are a striking piece of evidence to that effect. Covers are intended to sell magazines, and TIME would like to expand sales in the rightward market if possible, whereas they have already saturated sales in the leftward market.
Anyway, we subscribe to TIME, just as we subscribe to the WSJ. And I read both regularly. I think it's important, if you're going to read something like the WSJ on a regular basis, to also read something like TIME or the NYT, so your head stays on straight.
Speaking of media bias. Here's an interesting programming note: husham al husseini will be on Hannity and Colmes tonight. Regular H&C watchers like myself, will already know this but I think it might be interesting to anyone interested in US-Middle East relations. H&C is an incredibly biased show. If you're not familiar with the program, it features a hardcore nationalist/traditionalist talking head and a touchy-feely, anti-Iraq war, ACLU member talking head. One from each hemisphere, you might say. Doesn't seem biased, does it? Except that the nationalist/traditionalist guy is a very handsome and strong, like a jock. He looks like a middle-aged former football player with nice hair and twinkly eyes. He's aggressive and, even in a suit you can tell he's well built, like he works out. The other guy? skinny, nerdy, big glasses, balding, and decidedly wimpy. Total setup. But they're cute together. Chummy most of the time.
Anyway, it'll be interesting to se Al-Husseini, who calls himself a secular shia muslim. The democrat and Republican parties have both depended on him for help on various occassions, and no doubt it is imperative that the US political leaders try to identify moderate islamic clerics and get their point of view. But this guy has caused some controversy lately, although it isn't clear to me that he's advocating divisiveness as some have claimed. I think the republicans are still pissed off at him because he appeared on Kerry's campaign trail saying nice things about Kerry. These things happen. Gotta take it in stride. My guess is that Hannity, who is the handsome, charming one, but who has a propensity for being rude at times--not Bill O'Reilly rude, but rude enough--when people disagree with him, will be the agressive one asking tough questions. And Colmes, the nerdy one, will end up moderating. It often goes like that. But not always, sometimes the nerdy guy is the attacker and the football player guy is the placater. But probably not with Al-Husseini.
