Why Biden Chose The Prospect

[Celerity]

(email, no link)



Last week I got a message from the White House. Usually when this happens, they’re responding to a query I had, or maybe complaining about something we wrote. But this time, they had a pitch. President Biden wanted to explain his economic agenda: why he did what he did, what he accomplished and what will still take time, and why he believes America has been set on a better path as a result. Would we be interested in publishing the story? This is not the kind of question we get every day; in our 35 years, a sitting president has never had a byline in the Prospect. We value our independence. For the last four years, we have written plenty about President Biden’s industrial policy and trade agenda, his support for labor unions, and his emphasis on the importance of competition in our economy.

We’ve explained what he did and what he could do. And we have never shied away from telling the truth about those actions, whether we agree or disagree. But we also believe in giving our readers the most in-depth look at how our leaders make decisions. We think that the president’s essay, laying out in his own words his understanding of the economy and why he took steps to build it from the middle out, will be of great interest to you. So this morning, we were proud to release this exclusive story, and you can read it here. When President Obama, in the waning days of his presidency, wanted to find an outlet to make the big-picture case for his presidency, he chose The Economist. When President Biden wanted to do so, he chose the Prospect. It’s a testament to the support you have given us over the years that we carry the kind of weight where presidents seek out our audience.

We are never just trying to make a magazine, we’re trying to make a difference, to reach policymakers with our stories about ideas, politics, and power and have a real impact on the nation. This shows how politicians at the highest levels pay attention to our work. We need your help to continue this momentum. In the next four years, we will likely not field requests from the next President of the United States. But we will report honestly on his actions, just as we have done since our inception. We will continue to tell you who has power, what they’re doing with it, and why it matters to you. As billionaires take control of our government, they do not control our journalism; you do.

We need readers like you to become a part of our community. We have a year-end fundraising goal of $75,000. If you value our investigative reporting, our hard-hitting analysis, and a body of work about ideas, politics and power that can even get the leader of the free world to take notice, then you can join us by becoming a sustaining member with a monthly donation. Monthly donations help us plan our future, in addition to supporting our journalism. Thank you for being part of a readership that is so prized in the halls of power in Washington. Thank you for helping us build the Prospect together. We will need more, not less quality journalism in the coming years. If you’re able, I hope you can support us today.

Sincerely,

- David Dayen, Executive Editor

From the Middle Out and Bottom Up, an editorial by Joe Biden

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100219827049