I don't believe that many people who read the New Yorker really needed to be persuaded anyway. However, the issue demands to be seen for the photo spread entitled Democracy 2004, by the late photographer Richard Avedon.
Avedon's photos graced the pages of the magazine for years and never ceased to amaze. Anyone who has been involved in or has followed the current election campaign in any way just MUST see this spread - it captures the essence of the democratic process in which we are involved, featuring many of the main players (and the fringe ones as well) and issues over which the country is so divided.
But he does it in a way that may - MAYBE - have you chuckle even at the shots of Bill O'Reilly and Karl Rove. It kind of makes one feel as if we're truly all in this together, striving for the best for our country, though certainly in contentiously different ways.
Avedon passed away before he was able to complete the project, and was scheduled to photograph Alan Greenspan, Donald Rumsfeld, William Rehnquist, and William Kristol the next day. Too bad. We may have never thought of them quite the same way.
Though Democracy 2004 is not posted on the New Yorker's website, there is a slide show of Avedon's work that includes stunning shots of our next president and first lady. Enjoy.