Time, Newsweek Match TV Pack With Transparently Partisan Foley Scandal Covers

October 9th, 2006 8:48 AM

In case you thought the Foley story was wrapping up on Friday, be warned that both Time and Newsweek weren't buying that. They wanted a chance to build its place in history/Republican infamy. Both covers are quite transparently partisan for the politically sensitive time of the season. Time has a huge black and white picture of an elephant's butt, with the words: "What a mess...Why a tawdry Washington sex scandal may spell the end of the Republican revolution". Time has been rooting for the end of the Republican revolution since they suggested it was in danger of killing off the "human species" back in the first month of the new GOP-majority congress in 1995.

Newsweek's cover has a huge picture of Foley and the words "Off Message," and the "O" is a computer "emoticon." Cute touch. But Newsweek is very much ON-message this week: they want the Democrats to win both houses. Newsweek has two web exclusives from gay pols: Democrat Barney Frank explains how the "closet" is somewhat responsible for his and Foley's scandals, and gay Republican Brian O'Leary Bennett clucks over how "our party has a history of scapegoating gays and lesbians at the first sign of election trouble." There's Newsweek's idea of balance: a gay Democrat and a gay Republican lashing out at social conservatives.