May 5, 2008 Issue

Cover art by: Cover design by Gene Case & Stephen Kling/Avenging Angels

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Feature

Protecting the Rights of Millionaires

By equating money with free speech, is the Supreme Court defending the right of the rich to steal elections?
Laura MacCleery
Did Race Win the Race for Hillary?

Does living in mixed communities make people less or more vulnerable to campaigning that plays on ethnic and racial divisions?
Gaiutra Bahadur
Youth Protests Outshine Olympic Torch

Tibetan-led youth groups are proving the power of grassroots organizing with their highly effective Beijing Olympics protests.
Cora Currier
Ceremonies of the Strange

In this week’s episode of our political novella, Congresswoman Kang finds the trail to the truth is more crooked than straight.
Gary Phillips
Rehabilitation, Resurrected

This year nearly 700,000 inmates in US prisons will be granted their freedom. And in a rare act of bipartisanship, a new law provides millions to rehabilitate them.
David Cole
Journalists Slam ABC Debate Tactics

In an open letter to ABC News, a group of journalists and media analysts condemns the network’s poor handling of the latest Clinton/Obama faceoff.
The Nation
Leaving Cheyenne Mountain

Post-cold war America is looking a lot like the former Soviet Union.
William J. Astore
Pennsylvania’s ‘Obamicans’

Democratic activism and Obama’s campaign have turned Doylestown, Pennsylvania, from solid red to purple–maybe even blue.
Ari Berman
Bowling for Pennsylvania

Can Barack Obama get racially mixed communities in Pennsylvania’s small towns to bowl together?
Gaiutra Bahadur
The Liberation of Reverend Wright

The media’s portrayal of Obama’s former pastor as racist reflects an ignorance about the black church and its rhetorical traditions.
S. Eudora Smith

Editorial

Dreaming Obama in North Carolina

Conversations with historian John Hope Franklin and civil rights heroes about race, memory and the possibility of change.
Tom Hayden
Why Hillary Makes My Wife Scream

By trying to inflict maximum damage on Obama, she’s threatening the Democratic Party’s chances for the White House. Progressives need to intervene.
Tom Hayden
Tough Love for Israel

Another Middle East peace conference? Statesmen instead should have the moral and political courage to end the massive hoax the peace process has become.
Henry Siegman
Nation Note

With this issue The Nation debuts a new feature: “Back Talk,” Q&A’s with literary, cultural and otherwise notable figures.
The Editors
Noted.

Frederika Randall on Berlusconi’s return, John Nichols on fast-tracking Colombia, Jayati Vora on Patrick Cockburn’s Muqtada, Christopher Hayes on the new Israel lobby.
The Editors
Seeking Superdelegates

Online activists are shining much-needed light on superdelegates, revealing who they are and how they’ll vote–and asking why we need them.
Ari Melber
KBR’s Rape Problem

Three women contractors raped in Iraq testify before a Senate committee: why has the Justice Department failed to prosecute crimes like these?
Karen Houppert
Olympic Flame Out

Boycotts of the Beijing Olympics are easy. What’s harder is moving China towards meaningful progress on human rights.
The Editors
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Column

The Intemperate Candidate

Hillary Clinton’s intemperate remarks about “obliterating” Iran cloud her primary win with questions about her judgment.
Robert Scheer
Can the Golden State Warriors Save Oakland?

The Warriors will miss this year’s NBA playoffs, but they can still be winners by reaching out to at-risk youth in Oakland.
Dave Zirin
Bitter Fruit in Pennsylvania

If Obama’s remarks on poor white voters were gauche, the responses they elicited have been galling.
Gary Younge
Motzira-Making on the Right

The politics of tenure at Barnard and beyond.
Eric Alterman
The Olympic Torch Flops…

Steve Brodner
Stephen Hadley Says an Olympic Boycott Is a ‘Cop-out’ on the Tibet Issue Compared With Our ‘Quiet Diplomacy’ With China

Just keep it coming.
Calvin Trillin

Books & the Arts

Dreaming Obama in North Carolina

Conversations with historian John Hope Franklin and civil rights heroes about race, memory and the possibility of change.
Tom Hayden
The Light Stuff

The Kindle e-reader lightens your load, but can you curl up with it in bed?
Melanie Rehak
Back Talk: Nicholson Baker

In the debut of a new biweekly series, the author of Human Smoke discusses pacifism and World War II.
Christine Smallwood
Her Good Thing

The versatile vocalist Mable John, now a novelist and minister, has come a long way since the 1960s soul era that made her (almost) famous.
Nathaniel Friedman
Every Photo an Archive

Peppered with moving, thought-provoking elements, the photographic exhibition “Archive Fever” is fascinating but essentially incoherent.
Susie Linfield
Arms and the Right

Two books dissect the contentious, confusing debate over gun control and the frequently misinterpreted Second Amendment.
Daniel Lazare
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Letters

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Diverse opinions on the Fed, the New Deal…and more about our choice of words.
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May 5, 2008 Issue

Feature

By equating money with free speech, is the Supreme Court defending the right of the rich to steal elections?

Does living in mixed communities make people less or more vulnerable to campaigning that plays on ethnic and racial divisions?

Tibetan-led youth groups are proving the power of grassroots organizing with their highly effective Beijing Olympics protests.

In this week’s episode of our political novella, Congresswoman Kang finds the trail to the truth is more crooked than straight.

This year nearly 700,000 inmates in US prisons will be granted their freedom. And in a rare act of bipartisanship, a new law provides millions to rehabilitate them.

In an open letter to ABC News, a group of journalists and media analysts condemns the network’s poor handling of the latest Clinton/Obama faceoff.

Post-cold war America is looking a lot like the former Soviet Union.

Democratic activism and Obama’s campaign have turned Doylestown, Pennsylvania, from solid red to purple–maybe even blue.

Can Barack Obama get racially mixed communities in Pennsylvania’s small towns to bowl together?

The media’s portrayal of Obama’s former pastor as racist reflects an ignorance about the black church and its rhetorical traditions.

Editorial

Conversations with historian John Hope Franklin and civil rights heroes about race, memory and the possibility of change.

By trying to inflict maximum damage on Obama, she’s threatening the Democratic Party’s chances for the White House. Progressives need to intervene.

Another Middle East peace conference? Statesmen instead should have the moral and political courage to end the massive hoax the peace process has become.

With this issue The Nation debuts a new feature: “Back Talk,” Q&A’s with literary, cultural and otherwise notable figures.

Frederika Randall on Berlusconi’s return, John Nichols on fast-tracking Colombia, Jayati Vora on Patrick Cockburn’s Muqtada, Christopher Hayes on the new Israel lobby.

Online activists are shining much-needed light on superdelegates, revealing who they are and how they’ll vote–and asking why we need them.

Three women contractors raped in Iraq testify before a Senate committee: why has the Justice Department failed to prosecute crimes like these?

Boycotts of the Beijing Olympics are easy. What’s harder is moving China towards meaningful progress on human rights.

GET UNLIMITED DIGITAL ACCESS FOR LESS THAN $3 A MONTH!

Column

Hillary Clinton’s intemperate remarks about “obliterating” Iran cloud her primary win with questions about her judgment.

The Warriors will miss this year’s NBA playoffs, but they can still be winners by reaching out to at-risk youth in Oakland.

If Obama’s remarks on poor white voters were gauche, the responses they elicited have been galling.

The politics of tenure at Barnard and beyond.

Just keep it coming.

Books & the Arts

Conversations with historian John Hope Franklin and civil rights heroes about race, memory and the possibility of change.

The Kindle e-reader lightens your load, but can you curl up with it in bed?

In the debut of a new biweekly series, the author of Human Smoke discusses pacifism and World War II.

The versatile vocalist Mable John, now a novelist and minister, has come a long way since the 1960s soul era that made her (almost) famous.

Peppered with moving, thought-provoking elements, the photographic exhibition “Archive Fever” is fascinating but essentially incoherent.

Two books dissect the contentious, confusing debate over gun control and the frequently misinterpreted Second Amendment.

The stakes are higher now than ever. Get The Nation in your inbox.

Letters

Diverse opinions on the Fed, the New Deal…and more about our choice of words.