Why do I subscribe to TIME and not Newsweek? It is a long story unworthy of telling--but, suffice it to say, it makes no sense.

The editorial team of Evan Thomas and Jon Meacham make Newsweek, while not perfect, the historian's news magazine of choice. If it is true that journalism is the first draft of history, I predict that the thoughtful and careful Thomas and Meacham manuscripts will require minimal revisions. Kudos to these fellows.

Thomas's latest article details the complicated relationship between the Clintons and the Beltway press corps. It is spot-on and well worth the read:

Poison Dynamic: The Clintons have long had a rocky relationship with the media

His thesis: the modern presidency and the modern press are irreconcilably antagonistic. Why does Hillary get the short end of the coverage during Campaign 2008? She is the object of residual antipathy from her previous days in the White House.

There have been plenty of ups and downs, but Thomas points to the irony that graying Bill Clinton is the old new kid in town and the vibrant Barack Obama is the new new kid in town.

Earlier this season I quoted All About Eve, when I cautioned: "buckle your seatbelts, we are in for a bumpy ride."

In re Bill Clinton, another Eve quote: "Nothing is forever in the Theatre. Whatever it is, it's here, it flares up, burns hot and then its gone."

One quibble: Thomas is loath to assert that the press coverage does have a bias toward liberal candidates (although I have heard him say as much in other venues). On this occasion, however, he seems unwilling to admit that a subsequent contest between two current media darlings, Obama and John McCain, will inevitably fall to the most stalwartly liberal of the two: Obama.

Read the Evan Thomas piece. Absolutely brilliant.