Think the events in Tallahassee have permanently tarnished American politics -- and the presidency a job no sane person could want? Not on The West Wing, in which Hollywood has reinvented the White House as a place where good (but flawed) people try (and sometimes even succeed) to do their work -- just like an emergency room, say, or a law firm. There's a lesson here -- for the politicians and the people.

The "R" Word
BY JAMES J. CRAMER

Don't be fooled by those gaudy employment numbers. Consumer spending is soft; earnings are plummeting; the Internet boom seems like a bad joke. And the bonuses that have buoyed the city look to be downright modest this winter (at least by Wall Street standards). Who's to blame? None other than Alan Greenspan, who, disturbed by the market's "irrational exuberance," seems to have prepared us for a hard landing. And whose problem will it swiftly become? Welcome to your first crisis, Mr. President.

Lourdes Gruart lived the model life: catwalks in Milan and Paris, clubbing with European playboys, dinners at Indochine, shopping sprees at Bergdorf's. But in the past few years, the party wound down. And when she vanished last month, friends were mystified. And her brother, who had made himself comfortably at home in her apartment, says he's mystified, too.

Sharp Shooter

In a new book of photographs, Sharp, Nigel Parry proves that celebrity portraiture can be the liveliest of arts. GOTHAM
Hounded by creditors, beset by lawsuits, two of the city's most colorful producers (think Mel Brooks) pursue their dream
Real Estate: Carl Swanson
I'm Right, You're Wrong
Style

DEPARTMENTS
Intelligencer
BY BETH LANDMAN KEIL AND IAN SPIEGELMAN

The Elections
BY CHRIS SMITH

Tracking the turmoil in Tallahassee

The Culture Business
BY ANTHONY HADEN-GUEST

The leading auteur of B horror movies is a Yale graduate who once wrote a screenplay for Alain Resnais

Smart City
BY WICKHAM BOYLE

Splash test: the best indoor pools

Sales & Bargains
BY SHYAMA PATEL

Cool Christmas coffee deals

THE CRITICS
Theater
BY JOHN SIMON

The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life: not worth making again

Art
BY MICHAEL BRENSON

Baschenis at the Met: still life with kitchens and lutes

Classical Music
BY PETER G. DAVIS

Roberta Peters outlasts her peers

Television
BY JOHN LEONARD

Dune: lots of story, hold the Sting

Pop Music
BY ETHAN BROWN

What's with the Wu-Tang Clan?

Restaurants
BY HAL RUBENSTEIN

Marvelous, modestly priced Macelleria in the meat district