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Atlantic Unbound | Archive
Jonathan Rauch ..... Recent articles by Jonathan Rauch: Mr. ConservativeJohn McCain hasn’t betrayed conservatism; his party has. Partisan RetreatOur inevitable withdrawal from Iraq could poison American politics for a generation. “This Is Not Charity”How Bill Clinton, Ira Magaziner, and a team of management consultants are creating new markets, reinventing philanthropy—and trying to save the world. [Web only: Slideshow: "The Clinton Effect."] The Candidates' Four Detention CampsDeciding what to do with jihadist operatives is the country's most urgent legal question. But there's little sign that the presidential candidates have given it much thought. Flying Blind in a Red-Tape BlizzardBased on spending, President Bush appears to be the biggest regulator since the Nixon-Ford years. Campaign SeasoningWhy early primaries will make for a better president. A Simpler, Better Immigration PlanWriting a perfect immigration bill is impossible, but writing a better one than the Senate's is a piece of cake. Staunch or Deluded? Bush Is BothWhere President Bush appears to be kidding himself is not about the military situation in Iraq but the political situation at home. Pardon Libby? Maybe, but Not AloneA Honduran business exective named David Henson McNab has been doing time since 2001 in a federal prison. President Bush should set him free. Learning From IkeWhen politicians reach for foreign-policy models, they cite practically every president except Dwight Eisenhower. That's a pity. Turning Lights Down, and Profits UpTo listen to many environmentalists talk, you would assume that capitalism is the enemy of conservation. They should visit Pratt & Whitney's turbine module factory. A Separate PeaceThe way to end culture wars is to slug them out state by state. Global Warming: The Convenient TruthSlow-but-steady is not only the easiest approach to dealing with global warming; it is also the most effective. On Foreign Policy, Shades of AgreementAmerica's partisans want a foreign policy that is less confrontational than the one the Bush administration has given them. The Democrats' Best Shot at ReformWith the farm bill coming up this for renewal this year, Democrats in Congress have the opportunity to end farm welfare as we know it. A Bad Idea That Deserves a TryEven though the Bush Surge is unlikely to work, Congress should not try to stop it. His plan is worth a try. A Pariah's Triumph—and America'sOnce in a blue moon a reporter meets a man who changes the world by the sheer force of will, character, and vision. Frank Kamney is such a man. Coalition of the WaitingThe U.S.-European alliance is not on its last legs— and when Bush goes, it could emerge stronger than ever. When One Party Rules, Both Parties FailLike a one-armed canoeist, lopsided rule has delivered neither efficiency nor effectiveness. Sex, Lies, and VideogamesWhat if a computer program combined the action and graphics of a video game with the emotional power of great art? The result could revolutionize interactive entertainment—and even change the meaning of “play”. The Terror War Is an Honor WarA book by James Bowman makes a convincing case that the concept of honor is central to the liberal West's confrontation with militant Islam. Unwinding BushHow long will it take to fix his mistakes? For an Iran Strategy, Look to JFKIran has discovered a dangerous gap in America's defenses and is exploiting and widening it by the day. For guidance on how to respond, U.S. strategists should look to JFK. The Right Approach to Rough TreatmentAfter a period of startling dereliction of duty, Congress has finally begun to create durable and accountable legal structures for the war against jihadism. Struggling to SurviveA year after Katrina, as a visitor drives block by block through St. Bernard Parish, a reality sinks in for which there is no preparing. Even knowing better, the visitor cannot help expecting to turn a corner and come upon an undamaged part of the parish. But every turn reveals more of the same—more destruction, more debris, more rebuilding still undone. Not a Gas Tax—a Gas PactHere's an idea for President Bush: propose an international treaty whose signatories would agree to eliminate gasoline from their transportation systems. Containing IranCold War strategies might help us handle Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. 'Real' Is Not a Four-Letter WordNo one in public life is making the respectable case for the eminently respectable doctrine of realism. Stoking the BeastCutting taxes to shrink government doesn’t work—and that spells trouble for the conservative movement. How the Government Let Down Its GuardAfter 9/11, a Connecticut technology company offered its homeland-security services to the federal government for $1. What happened next doesn't speak well for the government. Gay Marriage Amendment: Case ClosedWhat many proponents of the Marriage Protection Amendment want to forestall is not judicially enacted gay marriage; it is gay marriage, period. One Man, Many Wives, Big ProblemsPolygamy is a profoundly hazardous social policy. It could create a permanent subclass of young men prone to vice and violence. A War on Jihadism—Not 'Terror'The threat against America can be defined as Jihadism, with a capital J. Jihadism engages in or supports the use of force to expand the rule of Islamic law. In Arabic, 'Internet' Means 'Freedom'A Baghdad scholar is secretly working to expose Arabs to Western books on democracy and liberalism via the Internet. A Bad Tax With Good TimingThe alternative minimum tax could turn out to be a politically tolerable tax increase at a time when the country needs all the fiscal help it can get. Demolition MenAriel Sharon and Junichiro Koizumi point the way to a centrist resurgence in American politics. Abramoff and Me: The True TruthLet it be known that Jonathan Rauch has never, ever received any money from Jack Abramoff, but he is giving it back. Where the Missing Middle WentMost people who identify themselves as independents are not uncommitted swing voters. Bush's Battle Endangers the WarPresident Bush seems to have had no intention of regularizing his domestic surveillance program by building a legal framework for it. Why Republicans Can't Cut SpendingWhy are Republicans having such a hard time cutting federal spending? The answer has to do with a critical shift in the GOP's governing strategy, dating back to the late 1990s. Every Way But Militarily, The Pullout From Iraq Has BegunPresident Bush may not know it yet—or, then again, he may—but in Iraq, he is about to do what Richard Nixon did in Vietnam. He's going to start withdrawing the troops. On the Web, Business Finds a New Way of Doing PoliticsBusinesses are using company-sponsored Web sites to spur employees to get involved in politics. See for yourself at www.igrc.net. Palestine, Not Iraq, Is The Best Shot At an Arab DemocracyThe outcome of the footrace between democratization and destabilization in Palestine will figure centrally in U.S foreign policy for years to come. In the Wake Of Katrina, Will Anger at Government Storm Back?Post-Katrina fans of Big Government take note: Polls back to the '60s show that the more ambitious Washington becomes, the lower the public's confidence in it. At a Same-Sex Wedding, the New Is Made Old AgainThis marriage, so radical by some lights, aspires to reconstruct the deepest of marital traditions. America's Anti-Reagan Isn't Hillary Clinton. It's Rick Santorum.Post-Santorum, tax-cutting and court-bashing can hold the Republican coalition together for only so much longer. The Loss of New Orleans Wasn't Just a Tragedy. It Was a Plan.The question is not whether the failure to improve New Orleans's flood protection was a mistake in hindsight, but whether it was a reasonable choice in foresight. Can a Little Lawsuit Shut Down a Big Tobacco Racket?Here's hoping that a lawsuit filed in federal court against the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement—otherwise known as the Tobacco Deal—is taken seriously. Guantanamo's Problem Isn't in Cuba. It's in Washington.Congress's failure to write legislation creating due process for the foreign detainees at Guantanamo Bay has blotted America's reputation and mocked the rule of law. George W. Bush, the Life-Preserver PresidentBush's and the Republicans' problem is that, except on one crucial issue, they have lost the center. The New NixonIt'll be George W. Bush, if he doesn't change his economic policies soon. To Confirm Their Judge, Republicans Abandoned Their IdeasTo listen to Republicans defending Janice Rogers Brown, you would almost think she was Walter Mondale. Lacking was any defense of her views. Democracy Everywhere? What a Nutty Idea.A preview of Washington's next scandal: the Bush administration's scheme to impose democracy on the world. Here's a New Campaign Finance Reform Plan: Just StopCongress and the country are on the brink of deciding between unlimited contributions in politics and unlimited regulation of politics. In Arizona, a Democrat Shows How to Thrive on GOP TurfCentrist Democrats could do worse than look to Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano for a model of how to win over red-state voters. The Right Went Wrong on Schiavo Because Law Trumps LifeConservatives believe that sound law depends on predictability and finality—or they did before Schiavo. Cheer Up, Karen Hughes. Your Job Is Not Quite Impossible.In his first term, Bush demonstrated the worst ear for international public diplomacy since—well, since ever. If Paul Shanley Is a Monster, the State Didn't Prove ItThe Shanley case should never have reached a jury without some corroborating evidence of a crime. In Hindsight, the War on Terror Began With Salman RushdieIt is not outlandish to think of the World Trade Center as The Satanic Verses, magnified immeasurably. Gramm-Rudman—a Bad Idea Whose Time Has Come AgainPerhaps Bush's concentration on the deficit might improve if Congress were to write his projected deficits into law. Europe Is the Next Rival Superpower. But Then, So Was Japan.Unlike communism, the E.U. seems to be not an enemy of liberal capitalism, but a new and possibly improved version of it. Bipolar DisorderA funny thing happened to many of the scholars who went out into the country to investigate the red-blue divide. They couldn't find it. Now, for Tonight's Assignment ...There's a way to raise student achievement that's sensible, cheap, and ridiculously straightforward. It'll probably go nowhere. Divided We StandRepublicans and Democrats should be careful what they wish for. A More Perfect UnionHow the Founding Fathers would have handled gay marriage. The Forgotten MillionsCommunism is the deadliest fantasy in human history (but does anyone care?). Will Frankenfood Save the Planet?Over the next half century genetic engineering could feed humanity and solve a raft of environmental ills—if only environmentalists would let it. Coming to AmericaWith its diverse and dispersed immigrants, our nation's capital is a model of the post-racial society we've been awaiting. Let It BeThe greatest development in modern religion is not a religion at all—it's an attitude best described as "apatheism" Caring for Your IntrovertThe habits and needs of a little-understood group. The Fat TaxA modest proposal. Reversing White FlightEven if vouchers don't improve schools, they will almost certainly improve neighborhoods. Firebombs Over TokyoAmerica's 1945 attack on Japan's capital remains undeservedly obscure alongside Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Marrying KindWhy social conservatives should support same-sex marriage. Seeing Around CornersThe new science of artificial societies suggests that real ones are both more predictable and more surprising than we thought. Growing long-vanished civilizations and modern-day genocides on computers will probably never enable us to foresee the future in detail—but we might learn to anticipate the kinds of events that lie ahead, and where to look for interventions that might work. Does Democracy Need Voters?The question Europe still needs to answer. Countering the Smallpox ThreatEven before the September 11 attacks heightened our fears of bio-terrorism, a biologist came up with a sensible strategy for coping with one of the most fearsome possibilities. |
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