In 1998, when I was the travel editor of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, I wrote a column, "Of course, we only buy it for the travel," the conceit of which was to regard the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue as a travel magazine. I claimed that it educated young Americans about the world, and had probably given Bill Clinton early inspiration for his later involvement in foreign as well as domestic affairs.
So I was not at all surprised yesterday when this year's swimsuit issue arrived with a full-page ad for the Travel Channel's "Sports Illustrated: The Making of Swimsuit 2013."
