My new column at CJR lauds The New Republic's "Second Term Recovery Guide" as a welcome break from a mostly awful White House coverage we've seen from the press, including the latest outbreak of bully pulpit hype. Here's how it begins:
During second terms, the Washington press corps gets bored. There’s usually not much going on! As a result, reporters hype scandals and speculate about the next election. They exaggerate the president’s influence and then condemn him for failing to live up to their magical-realist visions of executive power. As we’ve seen in the months since President Obama’s re-election, these tedious exercises may fill time and column inches, but they do little to enlighten or engage.
The New Republic’s “Second Term Recovery Guide” is an impressive break from the tedium. The left-of-center magazine’s contributors recognize the institutional and political constraints Obama faces and propose novel approaches to overcoming those obstacles.
Read the whole thing for more.
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