Comrade Pat
In its May 25 issue, the left-wing magazine The Nation examines The Great Betrayal, Pat Buchanan's recent book blasting free trade and promoting protectionism. Summarizing the author's analysis of the U.S. economy in the 1990s, reviewer David Corn asks, "Has Buchanan been reading The Nation?" More: "These days, Buchanan practically sounds like Jesse Jackson."

Alas, the Left will never accept Pat as one of its own. He receives a drubbing for his "shrill, race-oriented divisiveness" (which Corn says is not on display in the new volume), as well as for letting strong nationalist sentiments form the foundation of his economic thinking (apparently The Nation is no fan of the nation). "Once upon a time Buchanan was a free trader," writes Corn, who makes it clear that the Left won't do business with "Comrade Pat" (their words, not ours) until he completes his political transformation by also forsaking cultural conservatism.