The President Doesn’t Matter
Against the great-man theory of the presidency
Noted
Responses to Sam Boyd’s profile of Rachel Maddow, our special report on race and the economy, and Robert Kuttner’s coverage of the economy. Also, a message from Prospect Executive Editor Mark Schmitt.
The Limits of Self-Interest
The idea that helping others harms them is not just wrong but destructive to democracy, Deborah Stone argues.
Democracy Without People
Is citizenship possible without nationalism? Following Jurgen Habermas, Jan-Werner Muller argues that “constitutional patriotism” is a viable alternative.
Trail of Deceit,
Part III
Ron Suskind has traced the history of the Bush years with a novelist’s ear. Now he looks at the tragedy through the eyes of its victims.
Capital Rues
The consequences of letting money flow freely around the globe led two authors to think radically about economic possibilities.
Lessons From the ER
Navigating a family health emergency, one policy expert learns it’s not just doctors who make mistakes–systems can make them worse.
An Uneasy Alliance
The mainstream gay-rights movement’s slow evolution on transgender issues.
Trans in the Red States
A grass-roots movement for transgender rights is flourishing in some of America’s most conservative regions.
Unions Confront Race at the Doorstep
In all-important Ohio, labor has finally taken on the challenge of persuading its white members to vote for Barack Obama. Will it be enough to change working-class voters’ minds?
The Sleeper of the Senate
As chair of the Senate Finance Committee, Max Baucus could help pass a progressive social-policy agenda. Or he could be its biggest roadblock.
The Cult of Counterinsurgency
A quiet revolution in the U.S. military has resurrected Vietnam-era strategies to fight the war on terrorism. Retired Lt. Col. John Nagl makes counterinsurgency seem so appealing that it’s easy to forget its dark side.
Republic of the Central Banker
In the middle of our market economy sits an island of central planning, the Federal Reserve. No president or Congress dares challenge the power of its chairman, Ben Bernanke.
The Hardest Lesson
As the banking system collapses, politicians and journalists are ignoring one of the main causes of the crisis: massive inequality.
Who Knew?
Political thinkers used to ask if the public was sufficiently well-informed to govern. Today the question is whether anyone is.
Battle of the Narratives
The final days of the 2008 campaign can be understood as a battle of narratives about the economy — and Republicans are having trouble figuring out just what theirs is.
Third Term’s a Charm
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s quest for a third term may signal a turn against the term limits enacted around the country in the early 1990s.
You Don’t Know Bush
Recent fictionalizations of our 43rd president show that we’re done with the screeds and parodies. After eight long years, we just want to know what makes him tick.
