Not fond of President Clinton?

The economy has bubbled along nicely during President Clinton's terms, but many people - on the left as well as the right - have been left profoundly uneasy with the man. Those on the left have mostly held their tongues, feeling that a Democrat in the White House is at least better than one of those tiresome Republicans.

That leaves those on the right, and you can't get much righter than the Spectator. If you want to learn, in depth, why President Clinton is an incompetent slimeball, why his administration has been sloppily and negligently run, the Spectator is the perfect publication for you.

I'm a Libertarian, which in many respects puts me between the left and the right. I'd consider myself right-leaning due to my feelings about the importance of economic freedoms. But I think I can be fair to a person, and the cold truth is that President Clinton has no integrity. Some of the other views of the Spectator can be a bit hard on Libertarians, but there is no doubt whatsoever that this publication did extremely valuable work in exposing the horror that is Clintonism.

Ironically enough, you could make an excellent case that the right has been relatively well-served by Clinton, while the left has been cheated and abandoned. I would, in fact, make exactly this kind of case. But that doesn't mean Clinton is a good man, and reading the Spectator helps you - no matter what your politics - understand this fact.

In addition to the numerous anti-Clinton exposes, there are some delightful humour pieces. I always enjoy reading The Continuing Crisis, editor Tyrell's light-hearted recounting of current events. The publication doesn't take life as seriously as the left does, and I think that's much to its credit.

One problem with the magazine is that the investigative articles can be long, meandering and confusing. This may be a standard attribute of investigative work, but I like to think that a bit more polished editing would help.

Incidentally, I buy every issue on the newsstand and probably would subscribe - but the subscription is actually a bit more expensive than buying it on the newsstand, and I find that silly.