But when he s bending toward what the Washington Post and the New York Times might like, we re going to be critical. Lowry admits that the National Review will have greater access to the internal dynamics of the Bush administration than it did to the Clinton administration. The advantage is that we no longer have to press our noses against the glass looking from the outside, he says. Between 1992 and 1994, during the first two years of Clinton s presidency, National Review s circulation skyrocketed from 168,000 to 265,000. The magazine probably will not receive the same increase in circulation during the first few years of Bush s tenure in office.
Journalism is always more interesting when it is negative and in opposition, Lowry says.
There just won t be the burst of anger and fear that there was when Clinton was elected. Barnes also admits that conservative magazines may become less exciting now that Clinton is gone. However, he agrees with Lowry that conservatives will find someone to pick on among the Democrats. With Clinton and company leaving, there is less room for zinging, Barnes says. But you certainly have the whole left-wing establishment to make fun of.