The New Yorker's Finest Political Issue Ever

Posted November 15, 2008

The New Yorker has produced an issue worthy of our recent election.

If you do not own the November 17 issue, run, do not walk, to get one. Or at least read it online — it is an amazing piece of journalism.

This election issue contains four of the best articles and another four commentaries that help make sense of recent events.

Editor David Remnick's essay on Race and the campaign of Barack Obama is the cream of the crop — a nuanced, historically smart discussion of how Obama thought about the role race in the campaign.

As noted in the sidebar, George Packer's essay How the economic crisis can help Obama redefine the Democratsis a hopeful look at a more pragmatic liberalism than Democrats have typically embraced.

David Grann decodes the mystery of what happened to the honorable John McCain in the slightly tragic John McCain’s choices.

And star reporter Ryan Lizza's essay on How Obama won contains impressive and for me, reassuring detail on how the candidate thought about this election.

Rick Hertzberg contributes two commentaries both funny: An unprecedented victory and Wealth-spreaders unite. Steve Coll writes two thought-provoking columns: What makes a President great? and Not-so-regular Joe.

As a collection, this issue is nothing short of astonishing. Check it out.

And for dessert, see Mark Danner's fine essay "Obama & Sweet Potato Pie" in the recent NYRB.