Slate magazine's writers are voting for Barack Obama over John McCain 55-1. Elections in Fidel Castro's Cuba were more competitive than that, which tells you something about the Iron Curtain liberals maintain in the news media. Put another way, Greenwich Village, Telegraph Ave., and Harvard Square boast more McCain voters than Slate magazine. What an intellectually moribund place a Slate editorial meeting must be. One interesting result of previous Slate surveys is that of the four George W. Bush supporters at the online magazine in 2000, only one survived to participate in Slate's 2004 survey. Of the five Slate employees who voted for Bush in Slate's 2004 survey, only one still works at the magazine to participate in this 2008 survey. Do you notice a trend? A message to Racheal Larimore: find new employment--fast! Something tells me you won't be working at Slate to participate in its 2012 survey.

Exactly why is this surprising or even a problem? Slate is liberal. How many writers for National Review are voting for Obama? How many writers for the Weekly Standard are voting for Obama? How many writers at Horowitz' Frontpagemag are voting for Obama? How many Fox News pundits are voting for Obama?

Here is Slate's description of itself...

"Slate is a daily magazine on the Web. Founded in 1996, we are a general-interest publication offering ana!ysis and commentary about politics, news, and culture. Slate's strong editorial voice and witty take on current events have been recognized with numerous awards, including the National Magazine Award for General Excellence Online. The site, which is owned by The Washington Post Company, does not charge for access and is supported by advertising revenues."

Here is National Review's description of itself...

"National Review and NRO are America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for Republican/conservative news, commentary, and opinion. Both magazine and web site are the benchmark vehicles for reaching those Republicans/conservatives who shape opinion on the important issues, and both reach an affluent, educated, and highly responsive audience of corporate and government leaders, the financial elite, educators, journalists, community and association leaders, as well as engaged activists all across America."

Notice a key difference? One is "general interest" while the other is "Republican/conservative."

If I recall Bill Gates appointed Michael Kinsley, the partisan liberal Democrat at Crossfire, as Slate's first editor back in 1996. Why? Because it's a liberal magazine. The term "general interest," may not mean that it is bi-partisan or independent, but that it focuses on a broader range of issues -- health, science, culture, art, history etc --, and is not narrowly oriented to the political horse race. Natioanl Review is pretty much a political magazine.