By Michael Miner

Maccarone oversees eight versions of the Weekly Readers written for children from prekindergarten through grade six, Current Events for older kids, and several other children’s magazines. The editors of each magazine are guided by an advisory board of six teachers, and the staff make frequent visits to classrooms in Stamford, Connecticut, where the Weekly Reader is based, to speak with teachers, parents, and students. She wants to hear from all these voices before she puts a word on paper.

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“I think there is. Yes, I hope to God there is. We talk about character. We talk about responsibility. We talk about veracity with them. We’re always talking about how important it is to own up to what you’ve done. If it’s true that the leader of our country didn’t, we need to talk about that he didn’t, not why he didn’t. He didn’t tell the truth, if that’s what it’s all about. Or he told somebody to lie. And that’s not what you want the leader of the country to do.

There’s not a whisper of the president’s troubles in this week’s Readers. “I would hate to go out and say he’s accused without having any more than that,” Maccarone told me. “Otherwise, we’d be doing what everybody else is doing–and I don’t think that’s right with schoolkids. I really want the truth instead of conjecture. There has to be good, solid evidence that he did it or that he’s covering up. It’s got to be factual, it’s got to be balanced, it’s got to be complete. If I were a teacher I wouldn’t want to read an article from Weekly Reader that left me hanging.”

She read, “As the insatiable media rush to judge my husband, I find it necessary to acknowledge that I am, indeed, a daughter of Sappho. I say this without undue pride or any shame, but rather to stand by the man who is my soul mate in our desire to serve the American people. Our marriage, if unorthodox, is deeply rewarding to us both. It goes without saying that he has my permission to seek sexual solace where he may, and that his discretion in these matters is among his most admirable qualities.”

“I’m not so sure about the second one,” said the First Lady. “The most interesting side to this fiasco is that it’s a devastating critical rebuttal to Wag the Dog.”

“Funny, that wasn’t my reaction,” she said.