The U.S. press systematically refer to Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi as a crazy, narcissistic despot whose people are suffering and whose country is in turmoil. But, for a brief slice of time in 2007, people reading through certain U.S. and British publications may have found themselves reading about a new or “changed” Gaddafi, a Gaddafi committed to paving the way for democracy in Libya.

There’s a reason for that.

For some, the best gift this season is sitting back and observing warring media outlets debate the “War on Christmas” in between posting on the 10 Best Holiday Gifts for Bisexual Fashionista Tech Geeks or producing news segments on how gift cards are impacting global warming. The New Republic and Fox News Channel offer their takes on the debate.

Though The New Republic is a magazine that generally leans left-of-center, its Editor-in-Chief, Martin Peretz, doesn’t always agree with the generally liberal New York Times. On September 4, Peretz wrote a blog post that questioned a Times editorial, which had expressed dismay at many Americans’ “sadly wary misunderstanding of Muslim-Americans.”

It’s almost human nature to reflect back and think, “look how far we’ve come.” In a sense, this is what The New Republic‘s Naomi Schoenbaum does in her piece, “Post-Gender Justice.” Examining what being a woman means to Elena Kagan, Schoenbaum notes that Kagan does not explicitly define herself as a woman leader in the law–and how the women’s movement has evolved since Sandra Day O’Connor‘s time. But while the soon-to-be-confirmed Supreme Court nominee might not be defining herself through her gender, the media have done that for her.

You’ve seen the dramatic campaign commercials, and heard the revolutionary remarks. November’s midterm elections are destined to create a massive political spectacle–and likely, an even larger media circus. In preparation, the New Republic has searched through various Republican platforms to create a list of the craziest policies–which, depending on ones perspective are either good for a laugh, or viable political platforms.

The New Republic just published a piece by Gabriel Sherman documenting how John Edwards spends his endless hours of spare time now that his political career has been chucked in the wood chipper. Jogging on the beach in North Carolina, taking lengthy lunch breaks at Wendy’s, and partying with drunk Duke coeds are just a few of his hobbies. Sound familiar?

Newsweek and The New Republic recently published “America the Ungovernable” and “Is America Ungovernable?“, respectively, making the case that perhaps the recent political, economic, and social turmoil in the country is not a product of bad leadership, but the nature of the nation. If two major news and political publications run with the story, it’s officially a trend.

Luckily, Charles Krauthammer is around to nip this mildly insulting talking point – we’re ungovernable as a people? – in the bud.

Last Monday, Leon Wieseltier, the literary editor of The New Republic, wrote a piece on Andrew Sullivan, staff writer at The Atlantic, maître d’ of The Daily Dish, and all-around nabob of web journalism. It was not a very nice piece. Most of it is assigned to an insidious strain of anti-Semitism to which Sullivan, wittingly or not, is supposed to have fallen prey . . .

Is the media part of the problem where Haiti coverage is concerned? Some people are worried that the last week’s deluge of journalists is not only resulting in redundant stories, but is hampering the arrival of aid, and straining the ultra frail infrastructure. To which we say, seriously?

Over the weekend, we teased Gabriel Sherman‘s The New Republic cover story on the flailing Washington Post — fallen from grace and under the new management of publisher Katharine Weymouth and editor Marcus Brauchli. Now, the entire story is available online and it’s exactly the extensive chronicle of dysfunction and mismanagement that we expected, beginning chiefly with WaPo‘s infamous salongate.

There’s no argument that brand name newspapers have undergone huge shifts in recent history. We’ve read David Carr‘s estimation of partisan changes at the Wall Street Journal, and countless reports and predictions about the future of the New York Times. Now, the next issue of The New Republic dedicates its cover story to evolution at the storied Washington Post under the new reign of Katharine Weymouth and Marcus Brauchli. Preview inside!

We can’t blame The Economist for replaying 100-day coverage because, let’s face it, the American news media was was a little premature and extravagant. The Economist’s ‘Crunch time’ cover is playful, and handsome to boot. And we especially love the baby blue, because nothing says ‘crunch time’ like baby blue.

After what felt like eons Michael Jackson coverage, the news mags turn their attention back to politics. In the week following Obama’s G-8 jaunt, and with Sonia Sotomayor’s hearings on deck, political celebrities — young and old — are back on the cover.