Vol. 168 No. 21
COVER
NATION
Three days after the elections, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi spoke to TIME's Perry Bacon Jr.
"A Passing Thing" (Karl Rove)
says Republicans can still maintain a long-term majority
The New Congress: Can the Democrats Get Anything Done? (Governing)
It depends on how well the new leaders in the House and Senate can maneuver through a set of tricky challenges
Places For Progress (The Agenda)
My Mother, My President (Viewpoint)
each other names. These two are pros. And they get along fine
Searching for an Iraq Exit Strategy
A new team, made up of some old Bush family friends, will try to help the President find a way out of the Iraq mess. Will this family intervention succeed?
The Return of the Realists (Viewpoint)
HEALTH & MEDICINE
How doctors are rethinking the growing problem of preterm births--by focusing on the moms, not the babies
SOCIETY
are entering convents. How they are changing the sisterhood
NOTEBOOK
Low-Carb Really Can Be Heart Healthy
The Ana Log
America's Feeling Blue
Verbatim
Numbers
Does This Look Like The Face Of A Killer?
Milestones
Punchlines
Going For Guinness
WORLD
With Saddam the latest to face the gallows, critics accuse Baghdad of hiding the real number of prisoners who are executed
Ortega's Encore (Profile)
How anti-U.S. cold warrior Daniel Ortega made his way back to power in Nicaragua
The Things They Carry (Middle East)
Photographer Yuri Kozyrev captures the tokens of faith that help Marines face battle in Iraq
BUSINESS
What the latest record-setting prices for modern art say about the health of the U.S. economy
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
usually pegged as disciples of Mammon, are now trying to reach the faithful
Um, Is That You, Bond? (Movies)
The new model of the British secret agent is neither suave nor funny. But he has his charms
How Pedro Rescued Penelope (Film)
The director, his muse, her fake bottom and one triumphant role
Pynchon vs. the Toaster (Books)
The literary master's dazzling, dizzying 1,085-page new novel is not for those looking for a snack
5 Sports Books That Deserve Big Cheers (Worth Your Time)
The next best thing to actually doing something athletic? Reading about it
YOUR TIME
How to calculate the risks of downsizing in an uncertain housing market
6 Great Albums From 6 Decades
Savvy Travelers (Travel)
PEOPLE
People
LETTERS
My Person Of The Year
To help us make this year's selection, TIME asked people who were chosen in previous years for their 2006 nominations. The first installment:
ESSAY
Would it really kill the neocons to apologize for the Iraq war?
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
can't mask an economy that needs a million new jobs a year
Felipe Calderon (Q&A)
President-elect tells TIME about his plans for economic reform
The NBA's Play for India (Time Bonus Section December 2006: Global Business / Strategies)
history
India's Tiger (Time Bonus Section December 2006: Global Business / Empires)
a sleepy firm into a global power by targeting the low end of the market
The Cell Islands (Time Bonus Section December 2006: Global Business / Entrepreneurs)
Phone upstart Digicel has taken the Caribbean by storm. The company plans to make landfall on the U.S. next year
Ferruccio Ferragamo (Time Bonus Section December 2006: Global Business / CEO Speaks)
Asia
Rooms to Grow (Time Bonus Section December 2006: Global Business / Travel)
knocked off, one reason Western hotels are betting big on China
Very Rapid Response (Time Bonus Section December 2006: Global Business / Technology)
firm