Reihan: The Campaign Standard

By now I hope you've taken some time to check out The Campaign Standard, a new blog from The Weekly Standard. I should make my bias clear: the main contributor is Matthew Continetti, a friend of who has amazingly catholic tastes and a deep knowledge of campaign politics. But you also get to read Richard Starr, a cutting wit who doesn't write nearly enough, and who introduced me some time ago to parkour gym training.

There are those of who resist the charms of The Weekly Standard, perhaps because you blame them for all the troubles in the world. You're missing out: having spent a lot of time reading the magazine, and a fair bit of time in the company of those who make it happen, I can assure you that these are deeply eccentric people, and I mean that as the highest compliment. You will be entertained and you will be provoked, provided you avoid anything written by "Reihan Salam."

Comments

Gee, why would anyone blame The Weekly Standard for all the troubles in the world? You're right; that's just silly.

Posted by tgb1000 | October 1, 2007 6:32 PM

Reflect for a moment on how the world works: wouldn't there be some mediating filter between a relatively low-circulation magazine of ideas and the levers of power in vast post-industrial semi-democracy? Even if we assume that American has become a plutonomy/plutocracy, would this tiny editorial staff really be calling the shots? Or could it be that they are articulating (some) beliefs held by others making weighty decisions you consider (dangerously) unsound>

And in that case, doesn't the blame lie elsewhere, i.e., with the decision-makers in question?

Then, of course, there is the fact that TWS is rather more diverse in its ideological coloration than you might think.

My views on foreign policy issues are in a lot of flux, and I don't always agree with TWS editorial line. I'm more of a Robbian, and I learned the little I know about this subject from back issues of World Policy Journal and Samuel Huntington. Even so, I often find TWS pretty convincing. My guess is that you never will, but they have been known to make pretty powerful arguments.

Posted by Reihan | October 1, 2007 11:18 PM

Tell 'em to get an RSS feed, Reihan, for those of us for whom it's our 20th "must-read" blog.

Posted by SDM | October 2, 2007 9:42 AM