National Review Magazine Review

National Review is an intelligent magazine that was founded back in 1955 by conservative commentator William F. Buckley, Jr. It has been going strong ever since, with a bi- weekly offering of articles that are timely, direct, and almost always one- sided in their defense of all things conservative. You won't find a sympathetic article about the Hillary Clinton run for the White House or a balanced article about socialized health care. No, what you read in National Review is 100 percent conservative and it rarely sways from its political course.

One criticism that has been leveled at National Review from conservatives, however, is its slightly altered direction. It often departs from its traditional conservative stand to one more inclined to support the neo- conservatism of George W. Bush and others like him. This is partially true, and I do get a little irritated with National Review's tendency to support Bush, Cheney, and other neocons regardless of the facts; most important among them the fact that neocons support much larger government. This is something that Buckley and company traditionally abhorred, but yet they continue to support the Bush administration and its policies regardless.  

The various departments and features in National Review are well- written and flawlessly edited. I like the intellectual angle offered by the articles, even though I don't always agree with the position taken by the National Review staff, especially when they side with the Bush administration. It would be nice to read a balanced article in National review that presents different sides of an issue, but balance isn't part of the National Review style. That doesn't mean the National Review is a rubber stamping operation that backs everything conservative in nature. One example is the book review section. If a book is essentially flawed in some way, National Review is quick to point this out and decline to recommend it, even if the book's premise is conservative.
 
Overall, National Review is a very good political magazine that is devoted to conservative thought with some good, intellectual reading about politics and the political leaders who make the news on a weekly basis. Like I have repeated many times, I do not always agree with the positions taken by National Review. But I like the presentation, the respectable dialogue, the very low number of advertisements, and the intellectual angle of this magazine. It makes for some good, thoughtful reading when you've got some time on your hands and want a little mental stimulation on current events.