The New, New Republic

Oh man, I'd forgotten how hilariously wrong TNR's endorsement of Joe Lieberman was. Kos reminds:

But one day, Joe Lieberman's warnings in this campaign will look prophetic. And the principles he has espoused will once again guide the Democratic Party. It will be the work of this magazine, to whatever small degree possible, to hasten that day.

Sadly, New Republic editor Frank Foer is slamming the door on that vision:

The magazine’s editorial voice has tended to veer between liberal and neo-conservative — something that Franklin Foer, the magazine’s editor for a year, said was irritating to many on the political left. The magazine is now cementing what Mr. Foer calls its “center-left” philosophy, although he said its reported articles would “transcend ideology.”

Lieberman, of course, is now on the far right of American foreign policy thinking, and Peter Beinart, the editor at the time of this endorsement, just wrote an article examining how he got the war so wrong.

As for the merits of the magazine pulling back to a biweekly schedule, this is a change in frequency, not content production. TNR is doubling in size, going glossier, and generally becoming a slightly different publication. This particular transformation isn't a retreat or a sign of declining fortunes, it's a move to go after a somewhat different market. As Foer says in the Times article, they're very pleased that circulation has increased by 30% Washington (even as it's fallen across the country). Expect the magazine to become somewhat less ideologically combative and emerge more the sort of publication that beltway types -- rather than junkies, activists, or ideologues -- enjoy reading.