The new writers' bloc: they've got attitude, humor, and an eye for detail. But could journalism's new stylists do more? - influence of journalist Maureen Dowd

Washington Monthly, Nov, 1992 by Katherine Boo

Obviously, good writing doesn't have to preclude tough thinking about the important things--taxes, health care, welfare policy, abortion--that politics, despite its clunky machinations, is really about. In fact, the possibilities of the good-writing/toughthinking combination are pretty amazing. Imagine, America's brightest, bravest political writers aggressively deconstructing candidates' histories and white papers, turning GAO reports into thrillers, exposing deception and chicanery at OMB, all with a sense of drama informed by the film version of The Last of the Mohicans.

Unfortunately, as this campaign draws to a close, imagination may have to do. The smart, cynical Dowd Crowd has been busy elsewhere. And Hillary's headband never stood a chance.