Political Magazine: The Nations Essay -- Expository Politics Essays

Political Magazine: The Nations In 1865, a small political magazine was founded and given the name The Nation. This magazine was not meant to be a mainstream magazine that tries not to offend anyone. Rather The Nation was originally intended to provide the facts of the current issues and avoid exaggeration and political alliance with any party or sect. (The Nation’s founding prospectus, 1865) Nearly 140 years later, The Nation continues to raise eyebrows with its bold publications and political slant. Upon examining The Nation’s printed editorials and comments and the magazine’s website, it can easily be found that The Nation is a clearly liberal magazine as it has been for quite some time. In the February 18, 2002, edition of The Nation, the â€Å"Comment† section was overflowing with evidence of the magazines liberal stance. The entire column â€Å"Little but War Itself† was devoted to the disappointment of the magazine in President Bush and his State of the Union address. As the article points out, Bush seems to be an extremely meek President who does not want to say anything too risky. The author of this article, Robert L. Borosage writes, â€Å"Emboldened by success in war, Bush had little to offer but war itself† (4). This quote clearly illustrates how Borosage sees Bush as lacking the backbone to take any real stance despite his enormous approval rate brought on by the success of the United States in the War on Terrorism. Later in this article, Borosage describes Bush’s plans for the future as featuring â€Å"permanent tax cut for corporations, cuts not linked to new investment or new jobs – a simple payback to his contri butors† (4). This harsh criticism of President Bush depicts him as being more worried about returning p... ...is article could not scream the political orientation of The Nation any louder than it already does. This letter is written in the form of an open letter from Michael Moore to President Bush. The letter bluntly accuses Bush and his administration of being completely wrapped up in the Enron scandal not just involved in the scandal. It even goes so far as to say Bush allowed Enron officials to interview and pick government officials that would influence Enron and its business affairs. When reading a political news source it is important to know the political orientation of the source. The political orientation of a publication can usually be determined through examination of the opinions incorporated into the editorials and comments published. In the case of The Nation, the vast majority of articles presented offer a liberal view of the issue being discussed.