The Week

□ A newspaper headline sent our way: “Scholars Doubt Gorbachev’s Image as Liberal,” which, translated, means the scholars doubt Gorbachev is a liberal, and we’re sure they mean well, but a liberal is exactly what Gorbachev is, in precisely the American sense of the term, by the common consent and acclamation of all who term themselves liberals, especially the press, aren’t you listening?, and this is no time for scholarship.

□ Senator Edward Kennedy voted for Gramm-Rudman—“complicating his image,” as they say, and crossing his usual political allies in labor and the socialspending constituency—and is in fact, according to the astute Fred Barnes of The New Republic, running for President in 1988. In the polls, Kennedy is the only Democrat who is strong against George Bush (he is tied with him). For the nomination, among Democrats and independents, he leads Hart and Cuomo by large margins. But then let’s get serious: Kennedy is always an “early front-runner,” probably owing to name recognition and liberal nostalgia. His views are dated—Sixties views, really, complete with quotas and anti-anti-Communism and big federal spending—and the skeletons are dancing around in their closets just waiting for the parade.

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William F. Buckley Jr.

Ronald Reagan

□ A newspaper headline sent our way: “Scholars Doubt Gorbachev’s Image as Liberal,” which, translated, means the scholars doubt Gorbachev is a liberal, and we’re sure they mean well, but a liberal is exactly what Gorbachev is, in precisely the American sense of the term, by the common consent and acclamation of all who term themselves liberals, especially the press, aren’t you listening?, and this is no time for scholarship.

□ Senator Edward Kennedy voted for Gramm-Rudman—“complicating his image,” as they say, and crossing his usual political allies in labor and the socialspending constituency—and is in fact, according to the astute Fred Barnes of The New Republic, running for President in 1988. In the polls, Kennedy is the only Democrat who is strong against George Bush (he is tied with him). For the nomination, among Democrats and independents, he leads Hart and Cuomo by large margins. But then let’s get serious: Kennedy is always an “early front-runner,” probably owing to name recognition and liberal nostalgia. His views are dated—Sixties views, really, complete with quotas and anti-anti-Communism and big federal spending—and the skeletons are dancing around in their closets just waiting for the parade.