This Week in Magazines -- Overestimating Ahmadinejad, What Ed Koch Says, and Viagra Loves Golf

There is "that one" and then there is That One, namely an unadulterated bogeyman of the presidential campaign: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran. My friends, we tend to throw partisanship to the winds to all agree that he is an evildoer and that we'd best not directly negotiate with him.

And that's why, my friends, you should take a look at "The Latter-Day Sultan: Power and Politics in Iran" in the November-December issue of Foreign Affairs, the ever-elite, but increasingly accessible (and profitable), bimonthly.

Iranian journalist Akbar Ganji, who was imprisoned in Tehran for six years and whose writings are banned in the country, argues that Western media and politicians, as well as Iranian opposition leaders, erroneously caricature Ahmadinejad as "the main culprit of Iran's ills today: censorship, corruption, a failing economy, the prospect of a U.S. attack."

He contends that many exaggerate Ahmadinejad's significance and underplay the role of Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, who serves as the big cheese when it comes to the legislative, executive and judicial branches and as an influence on matters economic, religious and cultural. He'd not only agree with Barack Obama's assertion that Ahmadinejad "is not the most powerful person in Iran," but goes so far as to argue that he "does not even rank among Iran's top 100 leaders over the past 100 years."

"Blaming the country's main problems on Ahmadinejad not only overstates his influence; it inaccurately suggests that Iran's problems will go away when he does," Ganji writes, detailing why Sultan Khamenei is the guy to worry about when it comes to tensions in the Iran-U.S. relationship, including over Iran's nuclear ambitions. And it's his hand which has been needlessly strengthened by the macho rhetoric and policy of the Bush administration, he concludes.

Quickly:

---The estimable business-legal affairs reporter James Stewart's "The Omen" in Oct. 20 New Yorker is a knockout profile of Jerome Kerviel, 31, the likely-to-be-indicted trader at the heart of the respected French bank Societe Generale's $4.9 billion euro loss, the biggest trading fraud in banking history. It's a tale of ambition, greed, possibly madness, but seemingly a systemic breakdown leading to lax supervision interpreted as legitimization of his activities by the rogue trader. His own declarations to a court-appointed shrink are fascinating, as is word that the trading floor excitement depicted in 1987's Wall Street with Michael Douglas turned him on when he saw the flick. Read this and you may sell all your stocks and bonds and put them under the bedroom mattress.

---Oct. 13 Sports Illustrated informs that all the 49 skyboxes at the new New York Mets stadium, to open in the spring, have been leased to the tune of $275,000 to $500,000 per year for a three-year minimum. You'd hate to be the publicist of a Wall Street firm benefiting from a federal bailout if they're among those who've signed up (or those at the new Yankee Stadium, where the skyboxes will be $650,000- to $850,000-per-season and are likely accounted for, though the team's not saying).

--November Vanity Fair is worth the profile of actress Amy Adams, an all-too-typical tale of a young talent beating the odds; Tony Curtis recounting his intimate relationship with Marilyn Monroe when they were starting off in Hollywood; James Wolcott, an ever-engaging pessimist, on how even he feels beaten down by the media's unavoidable concentration on our depressing times (and all the pharmaceutical ads for various maladies!); and David Margolick's poignant look at David Levine, perhaps the finest American caricaturist of the past century, struggling with blindness at age 80 and feeling ill-treated by his longtime home, the New York Review of Books, during what is at least an awkward moment for the publication as it's unavoidably concluded that his work is just not the same.

---Forget Treasury Sec. Henry Paulson and bring in former New York Mayor Ed Koch to save the economy!!! Ah, well, that's a suggestion of sorts in "Ed Koch's Lesson for Today's Mortgage Crisis" on the online History News Network. Jonathan Soffer, historian at New York University-Polytechnic, contends that a longtern Koch program to renovate and build thousands of housing units promoted home ownership via a partnership with families and suggests how "this crisis can be turned into an opportunity." Hmmm.

---So are most American voters irrational fools? The autumn Wilson Quarterly includes "The Irrational Electorate" by Princeton University's Larry Bartels, in part rebutting historian Rick Shenkman's well-selling "Just How Stupid Are We?", a reminder of depressing opinion surveys about everything we don't know about history, government, world affairs, even geography. In sum, this argues that Shenkman (who edits the afore-mentioned History News Network) is mistaken to begin with the assumption that political scientists generally view voters as rational, with Bartels offering a broad overview of studies suggesting that "political ignorance matters." It may be less that we're stupid, Bartels concludes, than that they we're human and "predictably irrational," at times powerfully impacted by matters unrelated to a candidate's competence or policy positions. Which, of course, is no less inspiring that Shenkman's conclusions.

---October Health has tried-and-true counsel on keeping that belly of yours nice and flat, not to forget how to take care of your butt. But Health.com may come in truly handy with a very comprehensive look at breast cancer and its detection. If it's a worry, do check it out.

Finally, I was noticing the Viagra television ad in which the dashing, 60-ish couple is dancing up a storm before heading to an elevator and, presumably, a seven-hour session in the sack thanks to the trusty pill. At the bottom of the screen, it urges, "See our ad in Golf magazine." Does this inadvertently lead us to conclude that there's a higher rate of erectile dysfunction among golfers than, say, aging tennis players, yachtsmen or, say, former high school basketball forwards?

Comments

[10000Lakes]

Of course recreational golfers have more erectile dysfunction than recreational tennis players. It is a symptom of cardiovascular disease. Not enough blood to the unit. Who do you think has less cardio disease. Someone who rides around in a cart, only to get up and swing a club 100 times a day, or someone who runs around a court for an hour or more? Haven't you seen the potbellies on middle aged or senior golfers? Cmon. It amazes me that folks don't know the facts about disease.

[StanTheManic]

"Does this inadvertently lead us to conclude that there's a higher rate of erectile dysfunction among golfers than, say, aging tennis players, yachtsmen or, say, former high school basketball forwards?"

Most likely it's because more people read Golf (or at least subscribe) and /or they got a nice combo buy with TV/Mag.

[Puller58]

The bit on the irrational electorate is the most noteworthy item here. How people can vote for our rogue's gallery is beyond me.

[drkazmd65]

I agree,... Obama was about 3-4 on my list of 'rouges' when the primaries started,..­. and the ONLY Republican I could have seen myself voting for this time out would have been Ron Paul.

How it is 'we' Americans let ourselves be led by the noses into such a narrow, limited set of choices by the media and spin doctors is beyond my grasp. Perhaps I am too 'elitist' to be a good little sheep.

I mean: Rudy Guliani, Fred Thompson, Mitt Romney, Hike Huckabee, John McCain,.. leading on one side of the ticket,...­. How on earth could Ron Paul have not looked good?

Dems (my favorite order):
Dennis Kucinich, Bill Richardson, John Edwards (yes,.. a mistake on my part as it turns out), Mike Gravel, Joe Biden, Barak Obama, Dodd & Hillary Clinton.

If we wanted real change we should have gone for Kucinich, or maybe Gravel (whom I voted for in the MD primary). Obama may be a better choice than my early estimations placed him,... but the man isn't a Liberal. He'll do though.

[IneptitudePrideB4Fall]

I also liked so many of the other Dem primary candidates - my fave was Kucinich. But it's the media that blacked him out. Kucinich, Gravel, others got NO COVERAGE in the news cable channels. It was like they weren't even running. And during the debates, those candidates received many fewer questions & were standing at the outside of the candidate's semi-circle. The ultimate winners received FREE FREE FREE coverage on cable and in print. It's the media that choose our primary winners. It's sick.

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[JonRaymond]

I had to read this post to find out if golf was some kind of aphrodisiac.

[Yermammy]

While everyone's running around, like chickens with their heads cut off about the elections, what has Cheney been up to? Or Israel?
If Israel invades Iran with the next few weeks, well, mission accomplished. This will throw the election and there's only two options that could possible ensue. (hint: Barack getting elected isn't one of them).

People need to let other people (in power) know WE know that this possibility (inevitability?) is out there.

We had it done to us two times now... I don't want a third stolen election.

Time to address this problem. We already know Bush is mad. Let's contain him. BO/JB 08

[arvay]

If we and/or Israel attack Iran, the resulting economic catastrophe will make our current problems non-recoverable, and the US and other nations may become ungovernable as gasoline hits $200 a gallon -- creating hyperinflation on top of the current credit crunch.

We have to hope that even the group of idiots that has brought our country this low have been sufficiently warned, by China as well as by our military and economic experts, that such a move would be close to suicidal.

[angel12]

About a month ago Isreal bought from "us", over $70 Millions worth of bunker buster bombs. Supposedly for use against those firing rockets into Isreal. This use is absolute nonsense as those launches are from non-hardened temporary firing positions. Those megabombs are to be used against Iran. Note that "we" will have to refuel Isreali bombers going across Iraq to attack Iran. Why not just put USN and USAF logos on them?

[Chetdude]

"Finally, I was noticing the Viagra television ad in which the dashing, 60-ish couple is dancing up a storm before heading to an elevator and, presumably, a seven-hour session in the sack thanks to the trusty pill. At the bottom of the screen, it urges, "See our ad in Golf magazine." Does this inadvertently lead us to conclude that there's a higher rate of erectile dysfunction among golfers than, say, aging tennis players, yachtsmen or, say, former high school basketball forwards?"

The Viagra ads actually say that the corporate capitalist rich are overly cursed with impotence.

The ads are aimed at the dysfunctional rich corporate sh*ts who've ruined a marvelous Zen-like game originally created by Scottish shepherds to pass the time while watching their flocks.

[pugzbarbq]

Strangely enough, the corporate thugs you speak of also depend on sheep for their livelihood.

[ausoleil]

I'm not rich, nor am I a corporate type, and I doubt my friends and non-Republican friends think I am a sh*t.

I have, however, worked my way up from being homeless and living on the street twenty-nine years ago to having a good job and owning a corner lot on a golf course. I live a solidly middle-class life with middle class concerns and am a Democrat through and through. I play the golf at least three times a week and I can assure you that the game has not been ruined nor is it only populated by uber-wealthy captains of industry. Do you paint with a broad brush much?

I suggest you check out First Tee http://www.thefirsttee.org//) and see how many of us are helping inner city folks gain access to the best game that there is.

[Thorn]

In your headline: "Vigara." Kind of wrong.