GAME CHANGER: BARACK OBAMA (DECEMBER 2008)
Senator Edward M. Kennedy tells us why the senator from Illinois was the change we were waiting for—and the man we can believe in
LEADER OF THE YEAR: RIGHT MAN, RIGHT TIME (DECEMBER 2008)
When General David Petraeus arrived in Iraq, it was a disaster. Now he's leaving, and it's something else entirely. Lisa DePaulo travels to Baghdad on the eve of his departure to find out how he did it ("You've gotta live with the people to protect the people") and who the hell he is (for starters, he likes Phil Collins)
CAMPAIGN '08: WHO IT TAKES (NOVEMBER 2008)
A photographic portfolio of the candidates, operatives, handlers, hustlers, true believers, and warriors who brought you the most epic presidential campaign of our lifetime
CAMPAIGN '08: WHAT THEY'RE FIGHTING FOR (NOVEMBER 2008)
Exclusive Q&As with the campaigns' key figures
PRISONER OF WAR (OCTOBER 2008)
John McCain has staked his presidential hopes on his judgment about the Iraq war—judgment that he has honed on eight separate visits to the country. Robert Draper retraces the senator's steps through the minefield—and recounts what he learned
ABOVE THE FRAY (SEPTEMBER 2007)
You've heard all about Barack Obama's potential. But he has to get elected first. And a campaign can do funny things to a man. PLUS: A slideshow of photos from Obama's past
JOE BIDEN CAN'T SHUT UP (MARCH 2006)
Senator Joe Biden is never at a loss for words—or a microphone—when it comes to Bush, the Democrats, and Iraq. But will his straight-talking approach win him votes in 2008? Just ask him. By Robert Draper
WHY SHE LOST (JULY 2008)
Hillary's message man, Mark Penn, gives us the exclusive postmortem...and still wonders where all the money went. Interview by Lisa DePaulo
TRAIL OF TEARS (MARCH 2008)
Iowa: Ouch. That four-letter word must send shivers down Hillary's spine. How did things go so wrong for a campaign that had come to expect a coronation? On that infamous day, Lisa DePaulo rode shotgun with Tom Vilsack—Mr. Iowa himself, the man who was supposed to deliver the state for Team Clinton—and found a heartbreaking story
THE 50 MOST POWERFUL PEOPLE IN D.C. (SEPTEMBER 2007)
In Washington, you are either a person with power or a person who acts like he has power. How do you tell the contenders from the pretenders? We canvassed the city's top think tankers, congressional aides, and political journalists to find out. Herewith, the 50 men and women who make it all happen
HAS THE STRAIGHT TALK EXPRESS STALLED? (MAY 2007)
Or can John McCain regain momentum and win the White House in 2008? We ask the senator about the "surge"; his new best buddy, George W. Bush; and some very un-maverick-like shifts in his positions. Interview by Wil S. Hylton
KARL ROVE LIKES WHAT HE SEES (MAY 2008)
With his new gig at Fox and a seven-figure political memoir in the works, Karl Rove has officially crossed over from shadowy 'Wizard of Oz' territory to somewhat approachable public personality. But as Lisa DePaulo finds out, that doesn't mean he's any less…pointed with his opinions
RAISING McCAIN (APRIL 2008)
Meghan McCain is a 23-year-old, socially liberal John Kerry voter who loves Superbad, Dita Von Teese, Bud Light, and campaign blogging. Trouble is, this self-described "Daddy's girl" will do—and say—almost anything to help her 71-year-old father win the White House
OLD AS THE HILL (SEPTEMBER 2008)
Senator Robert C. Byrd is one of the most powerful men in Congress. He's also 90, visibly frail, and prone to drifting off during his speeches. Now he's gearing up for the biggest fight of his life: stopping people in his own party from pushing him out the door. By Robert Draper
GIVE HIM LIBERTY, OR... (JULY 2008)
Bob Barr, the former Republican turned Libertarian candidate for President, on the faux-conservatism of John McCain, the uselessness of the federal government, and why he's now in favor of gay marriage (we think). Interview by Wil S. Hylton
THE CITY OF BROKEN MEN (JULY 2008)
There's a hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, where every American soldier injured in Iraq and Afghanistan is brought, treated—if only for a few days—and then sent home. Devin Friedman follows the story of a planeload of men and their week in this miraculous netherworld between war and peace, life and death
LEAVE NO MAN BEHIND (JUNE 2008)
Since World War I, 88,000 Americans have disappeared at war, never to be seen again. But our government has never stopped trying to find them. This is the story of one search—for a B-24 bomber shot down over the tiny island nation of Palau in September 1944—and the extraordinary effort to bring those bodies home. By Wil S. Hylton
JUDAS SPEAKS (MAY 2008)
Bill Richardson on loyalty and betrayal, what he really promised the Clintons, and why he fell in love with Obama By Lisa DePaulo
POWDER KEG (MAY 2008)
Suicide bombers, crooked mullahs, desperate dictators, ancient grudges, the long arm of the American empire, and the will of 165 million Pakistani voters. If you thought you knew what just happened in Pakistan's election—or where the country is headed—you're wrong. By Devin Friedman
MELTDOWN (MARCH 2008)
What went wrong with nuclear power? How did the cleanest, cheapest solution to our oil dependence become the stuff of apocalyptic nightmares? Where does the myth end and the truth begin? Wil S. Hylton investigates
ALMOST HUMAN (MARCH 2008)
That hair! Those teeth! Those jokes that sound…for a minute…almost…natural! (Until they're told again with mechanical precision at the next stop down the road.) Robert Draper followed Mitt Romney's campaign for a month, in search of the man behind the robot. He thinks he found him. But will America ever do the same?
AN ORAL HISTORY OF RUDY GIULIANI'S TEMPER (FEBRUARY 2008)
Before he decided that September 11 was his own personal self-aggrandizement machine, Rudy Giuliani pissed off a whole slew of people in a remarkable number of ways. A look at the dark, petty, vindictive, small-minded maneuvering of "America's Mayor"
THE LONG SHADOW OF WAR (JANUARY 2008)
Some victims of the Iraq war haven't even set foot in the country. Kathy Dobie comes face-to-face with the legacy of violence
THE HILLARY HATERS (JANUARY 2008)
Hillary Clinton has some of the most venomous detractors in politics. But will they matter in '08?
IS THIS GUY FOR REAL? (JANUARY 2008)
There is a reason Mike Huckabee is standing out in a crowded and dull Republican field. The former Arkansas governor and Baptist minister (and occasional guitarist) is not your typical candidate. What other conservative talks about defending the environment, fighting poverty, and saving Keith Richards's eternal soul?
MOTY: PUBLIC CITIZEN (DECEMBER 2007)
An exclusive Q&A with Bill Clinton. PLUS: A slideshow of photos from Clinton's African tour, by Brigitte Lacombe
MOTY: MAVERICK (DECEMBER 2007)
An expanded, web-exclusive Q&A with New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg
MOTY: GIVE THIS MAN A PULITZER (DECEMBER 2007)
With Talking Points Memo, Josh Marshall—along with his obsessive band of political reporters—is building the prototype of what an Internet-based news-gathering organization might one day look like. Don't believe us? Just ask Alberto Gonzales
DIARY OF A WAR HERO (DECEMBER 2007)
Every day, army medic Sergeant Joshua Delgado struggles to save the wounded and dying in Iraq. Read his private journal entries here
THE UNMAKING OF A PRESIDENT (NOVEMBER 2007)
The nomination was his—or so it seemed—until a deadly storm of feuding counselors, overreaching promises, and uncontrolled rage brought everything crashing down. Robert Draper spent a year trailing John McCain's closest adviser to uncover the causes behind one of the most sudden political collapses of our time
GQ ICON: COLIN POWELL (OCTOBER 2007)
He was pushed aside in the run-up to war, but as he tells Walter Isaacson, he, too, bears some of the blame
OFF THE RECORD WITH DON RUMSFELD (OCTOBER 2007)
On his secluded ranch in New Mexico, the former (former) secretary of defense and chief architect of the Iraq war reflects on his fifty years in politics, his new mule named Gus, and how he's still able to sleep at night. (But don't write that down!) By Lisa DePaulo
THE DEFENSE WILL NOT REST (AUGUST 2007)
The military lawyers who are representing the enemy combatants at Guantánamo have an impossible and untenable job. How do you navigate a military justice system in a no-man's-land where U.S. laws do not apply and where the rules are being made up on the fly? How can you defend someone if that person despises everything you stand for? How can you remain a loyal soldier and a patriot while taking part in trials that you know are rigged? Well, you wake up every morning and you fight for justice, even when you forget what it looks like. By Sean Flynn
LAST ONE OUT, TURN OFF THE LIGHTS (JULY 2007)
Dan Bartlett—the president's most trusted aide—has been a true believer ever since he signed onto George W. Bush's gubernatorial campaign back in 1993. So why's he leaving now? Robert Draper catches him at the door
THE HONORABLE, ENRAGED GENTLEMAN FROM VIRGINIA (JUNE 2007)
His razor-thin victory in a swing state delivered the Senate to the Democrats. Since then, Senator Jim Webb has publicly refused to shake the hand of George W. Bush, delivered the most devastating State of the Union response in memory, and had to explain why an aide brought a loaded gun into the Capitol. It's been a busy few months for the straightest talker in D.C. By Ryan Lizza
WAR: A LOVE STORY (APRIL 2007)
Falling in love across enemy lines: It sounds like something out of a fairy tale. But nothing in war is simple. As this American soldier and his Iraqi wife found out, love in a war zone is difficult, it's dangerous, and it really pisses off the brass. By Sean Flynn
THE PEOPLE V. RICHARD CHENEY (MARCH 2007)
Resolved, that Richard B. Cheney, vice president of the United States, should be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors and that these articles of impeachment be submitted to the American people. By Wil S. Hylton
DON'T BLOW IT, BARACK! (FEBRUARY 2007)
Way to go, man. Despite being inexperienced—um, ethnic—and having a middle name like Hussein, your speech in Springfield is about to create the political sensation of the year—no, the decade…hell, the century! Here's how to make good on all that promise—and what it'll mean for us. By Greg Veis
THE ANGRY ONE (MARCH 2007)
Republican senator Chuck Hagel sounds off on the state of our union. Interview by Wil S. Hylton
DYING TO COME OUT: THE WAR ON GAYS IN IRAQ (February 2007)
Ali Hili is a gay Iraqi whose government forced him to spy on other homosexuals. Now, after a daring escape from his home country, Hili is doing everything he can to make up for the past. By David France
HI, I'M SENATOR COBURN, AND I DON'T WANT YOUR VOTE (February 2007)
But I do want you to know that the new Democratic leadership is just as corrupt and irresponsible as the Republicans, and together they're trying to destroy our country. By Wil S. Hylton
KISS THE RING (January 2007)
He's the new kingmaker of the Democratic party. The man who handpicked candidates, twisted arms, crushed dissent, and delivered the nation from one-party rule. So what does the Clinton vet and former ballet dancer plan to do with all that power? By Ryan Lizza
MEET THE CLASS OF '06 (November 2006)
Four reps, fresh off of victory, talk about their plans for Washington. Interviews by Greg Veis
BUSH'S OTHER BRAIN (December 2006)
Karl Rove may have made George W. Bush president. But it was Ed Meese who defined his presidency. Interview by Wil S. Hylton
THE NEXT WAR IS CLOSER THAN YOU THINK (May 2005)
Despite denials by the Bush administration, the plan to topple Iran is already in motion. By Joshua Kurlantzick
AL GORE: MOVIE STAR (December 2006)
A former vice president tells the Truth, ignites a global debate, and suddenly looks like a dark-horse candidate. GQ.com presents the complete Al Gore Q&A, including what he really thinks about George W. Bush. Interview by Lisa DePaulo
BAGHDAD P.D. (June 2004)
Amid the chaos and violence of Iraq, Sean Flynn follows American ex-cops and Iraqi officers who are trying to do the impossible: keep the peace
THE WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS POWER STRUGGLE (November 2005)
Think North Korea's Kim Jong Il is a threat? You should see who's vying to succeed him. Joshua Kurlantzick on the Dear Leader's deadly legacy
PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE (September 2006)
For the first time since exposing the atrocities at Abu Ghraib, Joe Darby speaks out. As told to Wil S. Hylton
DEEP ACCESS (November 2006)
Bob Woodward built his fame—and his fortune—as the fearless journalist who caught Nixon out. He was the scourge of a secret-obsessed president and the hero of a free press. So how did he get spun so badly by the Bush administration? And can his new book salvage his reputation? By Jason Zengerle
THE CITY OF A MILLION WAYS TO DIE (August 2006)
A year after his last report from Iraq, war correspondent Jeffrey Gettleman returns to Baghdad to find a crumbling government, a terrified populace, and a city on the brink of self-destruction
CASUALTY OF WAR (June 2004)
Colin Powell and his inner circle on the difficulty of being diplomatic in a "my way or the highway" administration. By Wil S. Hylton
TUESDAYS WITH SADDAM (July 2005)
Specialist Sean O'Shea and several fellow members of the Pennsylvania National Guard spent close to a year guarding one of the most highly valued detainees in American history, Saddam Hussein. By Lisa DePaulo
THE BIG, BAD WOLFOWITZ? (November 2003)
As the body count and the cost continue to climb, Paul Wolfowitz has no doubts about the plan for Iraq. Is he a warmonger or just a blind optimist? By Wil S. Hylton
THE KISS OF DEATH (October 2006)
How the frenetic, heated, and borderline-insane race to oust Democratic Senate hawk Joe Lieberman brought new meaning to the term "partisan politics." By Kenneth Cain
THE DAY THE WAR TURNED (February 2006)
One day in 2004, four Americans working for Blackwater Security took a wrong turn into Fallujah. Minutes later they were dead, their bodies mutilated. Now their families have filed a lawsuit that will challenge our government's troubling dependence on private contractors. By Sean Flynn
GEORGE W.'S PERSONAL JESUS (September 2003)
He uses his religion as a political tool better than any president in history. Christ is his number one adviser. And yet we don't really know what he believes. It's all part of the plan. By Guy Lawson
HE'S HERE, HE'S QUEER, HE'S GETTING USED TO IT (October 2006)
Two years after ex-New Jersey governor Jim McGreevey stunned the country by announcing he was gay, he talks to Jeanne Marie Laskas about living the lie
SEE JEB NOT RUN (May 2006)
As one of the most dominating governors in Florida history, Jeb Bush seems destined for the Oval Office—except he's never running. By Wil S. Hylton
JOHN KERRY HAS FALLEN…AND KEEPS GETTING UP (February 2006)
Too bad people in his own party want to put him on ice. By Michael Crowley
THE SINS OF RALPH REED (August 2006)
From star foot soldier for the religious right to GOP lobbyist with questionable ties to Jack Abramoff, Ralph Reed is finally losing his Teflon luster. By Sean Flynn
JOE TRIPPI'S WILD RIDE (March 2004)
It's no surprise that the most volatile Democrat in recent history has also had the roughest trip through the primaries. Lisa DePaulo rode shotgun for six months with the Dean team's campaign manager and hung on for dear life
THE REAL MAVERICK (July 2006)
Whether or not he can ever become president, Russ Feingold is mad as hell. By Lisa DePaulo
16 DEAD IN OHIO (December 2005)
It was the attack that would change the reality of the war. This past summer, sixteen Marines from the same state were killed in a single week, most of them in Iraq's deadliest roadside bombing. Ohio still hasn't gotten over it. By Kenneth Cain
AT WAR IN THE FIELDS OF THE DRUG LORDS (October 2006)
In Afghanistan, opium fuels everything: the culture, the politics, the economy, and most important, the resurgent Taliban fighters. Sam Dealey goes deep into the remote southern provinces, where the war on drugs—and the insurgency—is more dangerous than ever
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JIMMY (January 2006)
Jimmy Carter is twenty-five years out of Washington, but his legacy is far from set in stone. Now he opens up to Wil S. Hylton about God, abortion, and his close encounter with a UFO
THE WRONG MAN FOR THE JOB (May 2006)
We've been told countless times that Afghanistan is the one true success story in our War on Terror and that President Hamid Karzai is the shining example of what a moderate Muslim leader should be. Too bad neither is turning out to be true. By Robert Draper
THE ACCIDENTAL JURIST (NOVEMBER 2006)
Former U.S. attorney general John Ashcroft reflects on his controversial career—and makes no apologies. Interview by Wil S. Hylton
THE SEX TRADE, PART I: PLEASURE, AT ANY PRICE (AUGUST 2005)
Sean Flynn explores the labyrinth of Philippine sex clubs—a paradise for adventurers where the girls are plentiful, cheap, and have no other choice. The first installment of a three-part investigation into the global sex trade
THE SEX TRADE, PART II: THE GREAT SEX MIGRATION (SEPTEMBER 2005)
Every day, countless women and girls from poor countries are funneled into the global sex industry. In the second installment of a three-part investigation, Sean Flynn rides with one good cop who seems powerless to stop it
THE SEX TRADE, PART III: WHERE THEY LOVE AMERICANS…FOR A LIVING (OCTOBER 2005)
Costa Rica is fast becoming a top sex-tourism destination where prostitution is not only legal, it's embraced. Part three of our investigation into the global sex trade. By Sean Flynn
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