MEDIA LEAD SHEET/OCTOBER 13, 2008 ISSUE (on newsstands Monday, October 6, 2008). To book correspondents, contact Brenda Velez at 212-445-4078-Brenda.Velez@Newsweek.com-or Grace Huh at 212-445-5831-Grace.Huh@Newsweek.com. Read the issue and Web exclusives at www.Newsweek.com.

COVER: SHE'S ONE OF THE FOLKS (And that's the problem) (p. 40). Newsweek Editor Jon Meacham writes an essay about Gov. Sarah Palin's  folksiness and the McCain campaign's repeated mantra that she is on the ticket because she connects with everyday Americans.  That honest explanation "of the rationale for her candidacy-not her preparedness for office, but her personality and nascent maverickism in Alaska-raises an important question, not only about this election but about democratic leadership. Do we want leaders who are everyday folks, or do we want leaders who understand everyday folks? Therein lies an enormous difference, one that could decide the presidential election and, if McCain and Palin were to win, shape the governance of the nation." He writes that Palin's populist stance is risky for the country. **Producers: Managing Editor Daniel Klaidman is available for interviews on the cover.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/162396

JACOB WEISBURG: "Name That Economy!" (p. 34). Jacob Weisburg, editor in chief of The Slate Group and author of "The Bush Tragedy," writes on what we should call the new economic model that has emerged from this economic crisis. "Despite the collectivization of losses and risk, it doesn't qualify as even reluctant socialism. Government ownership of private assets is being presented as a last-ditch expedient, not a policy goal. Yet it's inaccurate to describe our economy either pre- or post-Paulson as simply laissez-faire. A system in which government must frequently intervene to protect the world from the results of private financial misjudgment is modified capitalism-part invisible hand, part helping hand."

http://www.newsweek.com/id/162294

      ROBERT J. SAMUELSON: "Is This a Replay of 1929?" (p. 35). Contributing Editor Robert J. Samuelson writes that while watching the slipping economy and Congress's debate over the bailout, it is impossible not to wonder whether this is 1929 all over again. "What's frightening is not any one event but the prospect that things are slipping out of control," he writes. "Panic-political as well as economic-is the enemy. There are parallels between then and now, but there are also big differences." Now, as then, Americans borrowed heavily before the crisis, and the crisis caught people by surprise and is global in scope. "But unlike then, the federal government is now a huge part of the economy (20 percent vs. 3 percent in 1929) and its spending-for Social Security, defense, roads-provides greater stabilization."

http://www.newsweek.com/id/162138

"The New Fixers" (p. 36). Senior Editor Daniel Gross looks at how, in 1907, over the course of two weeks, as a fevered crisis gripped Wall Street and Washington, J.P.Morgan acted time and again: saving brokerage firms, rounding up $25 million in cash in 20 minutes to help the New York Stock Exchange stay open, underwriting municipal bonds for New York City, bringing in gold from Europe to bolster the dollar and replenish Washington's coffers.  One of the troubling features

of our current, rolling crises on Wall Street has been the absence of a single, Morganesque financial statesman-someone who can put a stop to the trouble. The best we have is a troika of unrelated executives who are performing different components of Morgan's historic role: banker Jamie Dimon, investor Warren Buffet and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/162269

INTERVIEW: MANOUCHEHR MOTTAKI, IRAN'S FOREIGN MINISTER (p. 39). Special Diplomatic Correspondent Lally Weymouth talks to Mottaki about U.S.-Iranian relations and Iran's growing power. He said they welcomed the participation of William Burns, one of the top U.S. State Department officials, in the Geneva talks. "We feel that if this is the real approach taken by the U.S. right now vis-à-vis the nuclear issue, they must continue with such efforts."

http://www.newsweek.com/id/162274

POLITICS: "Biden's Unified Theory of Biden" (p. 46).  Senior Editor and Columnist Jonathan Alter talks to Sen. Joe Biden at a coffee shopw in Wilmington, Del., the day after his debate with Sarah Palin.  "The very thing people like best about me at home is that I don't have to pick every word and parse everything.  And if I say something politically incorrect, they know my motive is good." His tone is wistful as he explains how the new 24/7 coverage is draining all spontaneity from politics: "It's a shame. It requires you to withhold." He talks to Alter about being on the ticket with Barack Obama, his feelings about Obama and John McCain and his own weaknesses.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/162295

RELIGION: "Obama's Other Pastor"  (p. 48). Religion Editor Lisa Miller talks to Houston Megachurch pastor Kirbyjon Caldwell, who, in 2000, introduced George W. Bush at the Republican National Convention, but is now supporting Barack Obama for president. In the convention speech, Caldwell promoted the would-be president's plan to fund faith-based organizations, saying the plan "will ignite a social and economic revival among the working poor of this country." But after Bush's two terms in office, Caldwell has seen little evidence of the revival he promised that night in 2000. Last summer he aligned himself with Obama, a man who he believes better represents the Christian ethics and American values he preaches.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/162405

WOMEN & LEADERSHIP: "What Matters Most in My Work and My Life" (p. 54). In this fourth annual installment of Newsweek's ongoing Leadership series, 17 women-scientists, entrepreneurs, artists and even an Olympian-talk about pursuing their passions with a determined sense of purpose, often because their life experiences gave them a unique perspective. Featured this year: Barbara Walters, Tyra Banks, Rosario Dawson, Dara Torres, Anna Sui and several more. Director of Special Projects Alexis Gelber and Contributing Editor Barbara Kantrowitz are available to talk about the series. 

http://www.newsweek.com/id/162396

TIP SHEET: "Beat Back the Bugs" (p. 77). Chicago Correspondent Karen Springen offers a guide for parents on how to keep your family healthier during the cold-weather months. Wearing a hat, washing your hands, drinking orange juice and getting enough sleep will help. Eating chicken soup is a maybe and starving a cold, feeding a fever will not. "We never starve you when you're fighting an infection," says Dr. Christopher Tolcher, a spokesman for the American Academy of Pediatrics. Don't feel the need for feast-or famine.

http://www.blog.newsweek.com/blogs/tipsheet/default.aspx

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