A Letter From the Publisher

By Robert L. Miller

When he took the lead in the 1928 Republican presidential race by winning the New Hampshire primary, Herbert Hoover suddenly found his picture on the cover + of TIME. Historians may debate the impact of that distinction, but Hoover went on to occupy the White House. Since then, dozens of presidential hopefuls have appeared on the magazine's cover, with similarly unknowable results. "When TIME puts a candidate on the cover, we unavoidably become part of the political process," says Nation Editor Walter Isaacson, who edited this week's articles on Michael Dukakis and his New York Democratic-primary victory. "But our cover decisions are certainly not meant as an endorsement or pronouncement. They are simply journalistic judgments about what is newsworthy that week."

We sometimes wish that reasoning were better understood. When Jimmy Carter appeared on TIME's cover three times during the 1976 primary season, some readers complained that we were trying to propel the ex-Georgia Governor into the White House. In fact, the covers reflected our judgment that Carter's assault on the presidency was the biggest story of the emerging campaign. Ronald Reagan first turned up on the cover in a similar fashion in 1966 as a candidate for Governor of California who seemed likely to go further.

The record for most candidate covers in an election year was set in the tumultuous 1968 race: Democrats Hubert Humphrey, Eugene McCarthy and Robert Kennedy each had a turn on the cover, as did Republicans Nelson Rockefeller and Richard Nixon, the eventual winner. The proliferation and unpredictability of primary elections have made us more cautious over the years. When Robert Dole took the Iowa caucuses last February, we wanted to see more evidence of his strength before making him a cover choice. Sure enough, Dole lost in New Hampshire to George Bush. The Vice President's 1988 campaign efforts did not make the cover until after his Super Tuesday sweep of 16 primaries on March 8.

Whether cover exposure will affect a candidacy this election year is not our concern. Just as in Hoover's day, the important thing is to have the right story, and a good one. This week's tale of how Dukakis has virtually sewn up the Democratic nomination makes us comfortable on both counts.