Palin As Truman: How It Works, How It Doesn't | Newsweek Scope

E-Book Embargo
Daniel Gross 10/1/2009 12:00:00 AM
The answer lies in the types of books these are and in the not-always-rational price difference between e-books and hardcovers.
Who’s Winning the Twitter Wars?
9/8/2009 12:00:00 AM
Amidst arguments about health-care reform and the economy, Twitter has become a major outlet for politicians to connect directly with supporters, hash out ideas, and air complaints about opponents. It has also played a role in many of this year's most unusual political stories. Last February, Rep. Pete Hoekstra tweeted about a secret trip to Iraq. This summer, Newt Gingrich called Sonia Sotomayor “racist” in a tweet (he later said he shouldn't have used the term), and Sarah Palin’s musings became fodder for a parody by William Shatner. Suddenly all of Washington is atwitter, and Democrats and Republicans are trying to capture a dominant share of the audience.
@Foot in Mouth
9/4/2009 12:00:00 AM
Communication is a currency in Washington, a town that maintains its relevance by driving a finely tuned message. Invested right, it pays dividends. But a poor decision can derail months of hard work. For decades, it was prescribed: decide on a message, hold a press conference or distribute a press release, then hope some news outlets put your name favorably in print or on the air. But then social media arrived on the scene, and suddenly all bets were off. Pols realized they could amass followers, break news, and hammer a list of talking points on their own terms. Just ask Sarah Palin, the former GOP running mate, who, after deriding unfair treatment in the press, found a large following on Facebook and Twitter.
Death, Republican Style
Jacob Weisberg 8/29/2009 12:00:00 AM
The republicans charge that Democratic health care reform would, in Sen. Charles Grassley's words, "pull the plug on Grandma." According to Sen. Jon Kyl, the bills before Congress would ration medical treatment by age. Rep. John Boehner says they promote euthanasia. Sarah Palin has raised the specter of "death panels." Such fears are understandable. It's not preposterous to imagine laws that would try to save money by encouraging the inconvenient elderly to make an early exit. After all, that's been the Republican policy for years.
Attack!
Sharon Begley 8/15/2009 12:00:00 AM
If, this fall, proponents of health-care reform conduct a postmortem on how President Obama's signature issue went down to defeat—I'm not saying it will, but stick with me here—they will not be far off if they trace it to this summer's "great phrase face-off." From Obama, we got "bending the cost curve," his hope of slowing the rise in health-care spending. From Sarah Palin: "death panels." From Obama: "the status quo on health care...is threatening the financial stability of families, of businesses, and of government." From GOP strategist Frank Luntz and his clients: some bureaucrat will put himself "between you and your doctor, denying you exactly what you need." From Obama: "If you like your health-care plan, you can keep" it. From GOP Sen. Jon Kyl: "Imagine needing a new hip that will make it easier to get around, but just because you're over 75, the government denies you that surgery." Not to mention Republican Rep. Lamar Smith's assertion that the Democrats' bill "contains gaping loopholes that will allow illegal immigrants to receive taxpayer-funded benefits." And then there was that sign greeting President Obama outside an August town-hall meeting in New Hampshire: Obama lies, grandma dies.
Let Loose the (Blue) Dogs of War
Jon Meacham 8/1/2009 12:00:00 AM
Mike Ross is not exactly what you would call a colorful character, at least not in the context of national political theater. An Arkansas Democrat and five-term congressman, he is an amiable former state legislator and chief of staff to his state's lieutenant governor. Before the past few weeks, it is safe to say that few people outside Arkansas's Fourth Congressional District had heard of him, and you have to have been engaged in the details of the struggle over the president's health-care bill to have heard of him even now. But Ross—who is, inevitably, from Hope—is not a bad way to gauge where real people stand on the big questions being debated in Washington.