Once upon a time – which seems very, very long ago, but actually wasn’t in the significance of the passage of time – there were great and thoughtful liberal magazines. Printed and bound monthlies where ardent, well-thought-out articles presented opinions and arguments that were cogent, rational, and sometimes even persuasive enough that persons of all stripes read them, appreciated the viewpoints expressed by the authors, and perhaps admitted to some truths within.
It was an age of erudite opposites, passionate all, but all were skilled in the use of language and civilized debate and reveled in the rhetorical heights they could reach.
A pair of those venerated nameplates are still with us –The Atlantic and The New Republic. Like so many cherished and legendary icons of the political past, the nameplate is all that remains of those golden days.
Both are little more than…
