Our Hottest Stories of 2008
Political defectors, outraged rock stars, sexed-up sugar daddies—and other great reads from The Daily Beast since our launch in October.
Christopher Buckley: Sorry, Dad, I'm Voting for Obama
The son of William F. Buckley decided—shock!—to vote for a Democrat.
October 10, 2008
Let me be the latest conservative/libertarian/whatever to leap onto the Barack Obama bandwagon. It’s a good thing my dear old mum and pup are no longer alive. They’d cut off my allowance ... MORE >>
(Read Buckley's follow-up column about getting fired from the National Review here.)
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California, You Can Forget My Taxes
Singer Melissa Etheridge rails against the passage of the gay-marriage ban in California--and she won't be paying the state a dime.
November 6, 2008
Okay. So Prop 8 passed. Alright, I get it. 51% of you think that I am a second class citizen. Alright then. So my wife, uh I mean, roommate? Girlfriend? Special lady friend? You are gonna have to ... MORE >>
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Historian Sean Wilentz talks to Jesse Jackson and civil-rights veterans about their awe of—and tensions with—the Obama campaign.
November 3, 2008
“I’ve been able to see our nation get better,” the Rev. Jesse Jackson muses, in joyful anticipation of Barack Obama’s impending presidential victory. Jackson is reflecting on what he called “sixty years of battles to democratize democracy.” Tuesday’s ... MORE >>
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Jennifer Lopez opens up about motherhood, Scientology, and a "nervous breakdown" that she's never publicly discussed.
October 6, 2006
"Don't blow the horn," I tell my driver as we approach the gates. "I'm sure we're being watched. A guard will appear." Sure enough, the ornate iron gates swing open and a large Latin guard speeds toward us on a Segway Human Transporter, his ear glued to a walkie-talkie." I'm here to see Miss Lopez," I inform him ... MORE >>
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Tina Brown: What Sarah Palin Didn't Say
The interviews with Sarah Palin in her TV media blitz have failed to answer the only question I'm interested in: Now that it's all over, Sarah, who does look after the kids?
November 11, 2008
I could never see a shot of the dynamite-looking Palin sashaying out to greet the crowd in those borrowed gladrags without thinking of what it must be like backstage. If it was anything like the early childrearing ... MORE >>
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Toure: Can We Say "Fuck Whitey" If the President is Black?
Obama's victory creates an identity crisis for black men. Whom do we rail against if the guy in the Oval Office is one of us?
November 5, 2008
Obama’s election necessitates a rethinking of what it means to be a black man. In our blood there’s a rebelliousness, in our heart there’s a certainty that America hates us, and in our soul there’s an acceptance that America considers us the monster. Black men call ... MORE >>
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Some might call it prostitution. I call it a "mutually beneficial arrangement" that pays for my killer wardrobe.
November 30, 2008
Mutually Beneficial Arrangement. That is the polite term that popular culture has coined for the type of relationship I’m in. Had one asked me if this was the sort of relationship I could see myself being involved in a few years ago ... MORE >>
(Read her sugar daddy's response here.)
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From Mad Men's Jon Hamm to Gossip Girl's Ed Westwick, torso-fros are (finally) making a comeback. Plus: A gallery of the hottest fuzz.
December 16, 2008
Ever since Adam caught Eve checking out that snake, men have spent way too much time worrying about the appearance of their manhood. What’s more important, the size of the wave or the motion of the ocean? Well, I’m here to make a bunch of men more neurotic by telling you the answer ... MORE >>
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Is Barack Obama America's first "black" president, or America's first "biracial" president? The Daily Beast's Patricia J. Williams on why the discussion is ridiculous.
November 8, 2008
It was surely meant as a wry aside when, speaking about his daughters’ search for a puppy, Barack Obama observed that most shelter dogs are “mutts like me.” My first thought, however, was: “Ain’t I a mutt, too?” In fact, of course, we’re all mutts ... MORE >>
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Why Are Christians Having Better Sex Than the Rest of Us?
A Texas pastor has come up with one of the best public policy proposals of the decade: have more sex. Tucker Carlson weighs in.
November 25, 2008
Let’s concede right up front that you hate evangelicals. Most affluent, educated people do. Where I live, they're the most unpopular group there is. How do I know this? Because of the reaction ... MORE >>
When Richard B. Cheney exits his undisclosed location next month, he will probably be the last major figure in American life to answer to the name "Dick."
December 2, 2008
When Richard B. Cheney moves out of One Observatory Circle on January 20, it will mark the much-anticipated end to an era of man-sized safes, undisclosed locations, and vice-presidential shooting sprees. ... MORE >>
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McCain's 96-year-old Aunt Rowena talks to The Daily Beast about press bias and why she gets a kick out of Bill Clinton.
October 15, 2008
“He’s losing,” Rowena Willis, John McCain’s 96-year old aunt said. ... MORE >>
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The romance began late at night, with a glass of red wine and an episode of The Situation Room.
October 15, 2008
I can’t hold in the truth any longer. My feelings are too large to live just within the confines of my heart. I need everyone to know:
I am passionately in love with David Gergen. ... MORE >>
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The former editor in chief of Ms. magazine (and a Democrat) on what she learned on a campaign plane with the would-be VP.
October 27, 2008
It's difficult not to froth when one reads, as I did again and again this week, doubts about Sarah Palin's “intelligence,” coming especially from women such as PBS's Bonnie Erbe, who, as near as I recall, has not herself heretofore been burdened with the Susan Sontag of Journalism moniker. ... MORE >>
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Angela's Ashes author Frank McCourt on the movie Doubt, about a power struggle over the first black student in a strict school in the Bronx--and the unique joylessness of the Irish Catholic Church.
December 19, 2008
'I can fight you,' says Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman.)
'You'll lose,' says Sister Aloysius (Meryl Streep.) ... MORE >>
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America's Pastor has a nice-guy image. But it is belied by what he says on Sundays.
November 14, 2008
Here is how evangelical superstar Pastor Rick Warren, who will deliver the invocation at Barack Obama's inauguration, described his philosophy this August: “I have never been considered a part of the religious right, because I don't believe politics is the most effective way to change the world.” ... MORE >>
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What Rich People Don't Want You to Know About Their Spending
Hide the Hermes orange and the Tiffany blue—today's wealthy consumers are asking for unmarked bags to disguise their luxury purchases. The Daily Beast investigates.
December 15, 2008
Last week, Kathleen Fuld, wife of Lehman Brothers C.E.O. Dick Fuld, stopped by the Hermès boutique on Manhattan’s Madison Avenue to buy some holiday gifts. As she paid for her purchases, she vetoed the store’s signature orange bag and asked for a plain white one instead. ... MORE >>
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My night at an all-nude New York dinner party.
November 11, 2008
"If anyone young is reading this, go, right this minute, put on a bikini and don't take it off until you're 34." This is Nora Ephron, reminding us that now— right now—is the peak naked moment of our lives, the highest point on a steep slope of sagging. I remembered this rule when my email dinged with a dinner invitation. The invite contained details about the host (a friend of a friend), the cuisine (Indian) and the attire (none). A nude dinner party. ... MORE >>
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Alexandra Penney—a New York artist and former editor of Self Magazine—lost her life savings in the Madoff debacle. She shared her wrenching trauma in a Daily Beast exclusive.
December 17, 2008
Last Thursday at around 5 p.m., I had just checked on a rising cheese soufflé in my oven when my best friend called.
"Heard Madoff's been arrested,” she said. “I hope it's a rumor. Doesn't he handle most of your money?” ... MORE >>
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Wendy Button: So Long, Democrats
A speechwriter for Obama, Edwards, and Clinton on why she voted for McCain.
October 28, 2008
Since I started writing speeches more than ten years ago, I have always believed in the Democratic Party. Not anymore. Not after the election of 2008. This transformation has been swift and complete and since I’m a woman writing in the election of 2008, “very emotional.” ... MORE >>
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Sarah Palin's $150,000 shopping spree seems more justified when you remember what she was, um, wearing before her Nieman's trip. A gallery.
October 23, 2008
Yesterday it was reported that the Republican National Committee spent $150,000 on outfitting John McCain's running mate, Alaska governor Sarah Palin. Outrageous! Until you take a gander at what she was wearing before, at which point the price tag appears altogether reasonable. Here’s a retrospective of the VPILF's wardrobe, pre-makeover. ... MORE >>
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The D.C. Sex Blogger on How She Went From Slut to Housewife
In a Daily Beast exclusive, Jessica Cutler, the former Hill aide behind the explosive "Washingtonienne" sex blog, explains why she gave up the louche life to settle down and get married. (And no, she's not pregnant.)
December 10, 2008
Four years ago, Jessica Cutler was a 26-year-old Senate aide with a hugely popular secret sex blog. Under the pseudonym “The Washingtonienne,” she chronicled her extraordinary sex life, which frequently involved sleeping with D.C. power players who paid her for sex. ... MORE >>
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The Dirty Little Secret of Motherhood
Project Runway star and mother of six, Laura Bennett, on why choosing a favorite child is not only okay—it's actually healthier for the family
December 9, 2008
I have a favorite child. I hear you gasping in horror. I actually believe every mother does, just won’t admit it. It’s the dirty little secret of motherhood. Why is it so horrible? It’s not Sophie’s Choice or anything. I’m not saying I don’t love all of my children, just that I don’t always like all of them, at least not every day (or week, or month, or year). ... MORE >>