I read an "article with potential" on the plane in W magazine (whose tagline should be "our fashion layouts double as porn!") (runner-up tagline, "this magazine is total superficial shit, worse than InStyle") about the lack of social scene in Washington DC since the Bush II's came to town. Apparently G.W. doesn't like to entertain much and his social schedule is in line with his political approach: isolationist (he likes to order Tex-Mex, invite close friends over, and go to bed by 9 PM).
It made me think about what this does for international relations and I'd love to see a publication with more substance (The New Yorker? The Atlantic? The Times or the Washington Post?) examine the history of DC social life. Is there any relationship between the number of state dinners/presidential entertaining policies and the way the US interacts with world? Are relations smoother when we have a more social president? Or are they worse? When there is more socializing between branches, do Congress and the Executive get along more smoothly? Is there a reduction in filibusters? Or not? I think that would be a totally cool article. If you're an editor, or you know an editor, at one of these publications, could you make this happen? Thanks.