From the Publisher

By Robert L. Miller

Senior editor Walter Isaacson is one of the very few Americans sorry to see the 1988 presidential campaign end. The to-and-fro of politics fascinates him even when the exchanges are as down and dirty as they were this year. For him and for the magazine, this issue charts not only a changing of the guard in Washington but also a new administration in our Nation section. Isaacson has been guiding our coverage of America's political landscape since 1986. Now he will concentrate on two formidable new projects: a full-length biography of Henry Kissinger and, as a senior writer for TIME, pieces ranging from essays on foreign policy to profiles of cultural figures.

Isaacson's challenge has been to go beyond the predictable who's-up, who's-down handicapping of the race to bring a more penetrating vision to the key players and the larger issues. "The campaign may have seemed sour and petty," Isaacson says, "but we tried to find interesting ways to cover it." He points with special pride to a series of essays in which the magazine explored the issues that received short shrift from the candidates: health care, the underclass, homelessness, relations with the Soviets. The Grapevine section took readers behind the scenes for exclusive candid snapshots of the campaign. TIME also kept a close watch on the coterie of aides managing the candidates. "It was the year of the handlers," says Isaacson. "When I was out on the trail, I was surprised by how little access the press and the public ever had to the candidates."

Terry Zintl, who has served as Isaacson's deputy, will take charge of the section. Zintl has reported on presidential politics and edited campaign stories since 1972, when he was working for the Morning News in Wilmington, Del. He was disappointed by the shallowness and demagoguery of 1988. "It was full of sound and fury that signified a lot less than it should have," he says.

With the assistance of senior editor Jack White, Zintl will lead TIME through the presidential transition into the next Administration. "America is going to have a new tone and style," he says. "For us, the challenge will be to explore what's important to the country, as well as what's important to the people trying to run the country."