On Fri, 2 Oct 2009, SA wrote:
> I think you're right that the Nation probably would have had a lot of
> criticism of Truman. But that's because Truman was viewed as a shocking
> and unexpected regime shift away from Roosevelt's liberalism.
I think that's completely comparable to a Republican's attitude toward Eisenhower, who was parachuted in on the party in what was (rightly) seen as an elite coup against Robert Taft. Eisenhower was seen from the beginning as someone who could just as easily have been the Democratic nominee -- which indeed he could, if he's wanted it. They certainly offered.
I think Bush and Obama are completely comparable. Another good comparison would be the Nation under LBJ and the National Review under Nixon. My suspicious (based on zero evidence) is that by the end of those regimes, the Nation would have been more critical than the NR even though the NR originally viewed Nixon as almost their defining enemy.
Michael