Michael Barone (pundit)

Michael Barone at CPAC in February 2010.

Michael Barone (born 1944 in Highland Park, Michigan) is a conservative American political analyst, pundit and journalist. He is best known for being the principal author of The Almanac of American Politics, a reference work concerning US governors and federal politicians, and published biennially by National Journal. The Almanac has been called "definitive and essential for anyone writing seriously about campaigns and Congress."^[1] Barone is also a regular commentator on United States elections and political trends for the Fox News Channel. In April 2009, Barone joined the Washington Examiner, leaving his position of 18 years at US News and World Report.^[2] He is based at the American Enterprise Institute as a resident fellow.^[3]

Career

Barone is a Senior Political Analyst for the Washington Examiner, where he writes a twice weekly column and contributes to their Beltway Confidential blog. He is also a frequent contributor during Fox News Channel's election coverage. His political views are generally conservative. Barone has said he is not a religious believer, although he is sympathetic to and respectful of socially conservative believers.

His commentary has been concerned with the topic of immigration. Perhaps partly as a result of being a descendant of Italian immigrants, Barone takes an optimistic view of contemporary immigration into the US. He says that Hispanic immigration has parallels to the Italian experience and that, given the right circumstances, current and future Hispanic and other immigrants can become Americanized and assimilated, just as the Italians were.

He is the author of several books:

• Our Country: The Shaping of America from Roosevelt to Reagan (Free Press, 1990)
• The New Americans: How the Melting Pot can work Again (Regnery Publishing, 2001)
• Hard America, Soft America: Competition vs. Coddling and the Battle for the Nation's Future (Crown Forum, 2004)
• Our First Revolution: The Remarkable British Upheaval that Inspired America's Founding Fathers (Crown Publishers, 2007), a history of the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and how it led to the American Revolution.

Background

Barone graduated from Cranbrook School in 1962, three years ahead of Mitt Romney. He received a bachelor's degree from Harvard University in 1966 and a law degree from Yale Law School in 1969, where he was a member of the Yale Law Journal. He is a native of suburban Detroit, Michigan. Although his political viewpoint is far right today, in the 1960s he worked as an intern for Jerome Cavanagh, the Democratic mayor of Detroit.^[4] He was also a supporter of George McGovern in 1972.^[5] In 1975 Barone married Joan Shorenstein. Joan grew up in San Francisco, graduated from George Washington High, and attended Harvard Divinity School, where she acquired an interest in politics. She began her career at the Washington Post, on David Broder's recommendation (Broder had been her Harvard professor). Soon after that she joined CBS News. Joan soon became the producer of "Face the Nation", and later producer for "Dan Rather's CBS Evening News". In 1985, she died after a 10-year battle with cancer. She was 38 years old.

Controversy

On November 11, 2008, Barone said journalists trashed Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, the Republicans' vice presidential nominee, because "she did not abort her Down syndrome baby." Barone was speaking at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago to the 121st annual meeting of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges. Barone later confirmed making the remarks but claimed to be joking.^[6]

References

External links

• Michael Barone's Opinion Articles at Creators Syndicate
• Washington Examiner
• Barone's Examiner archives
• Beltway Confidential
• Archive of his US News & World Report columns
• Podcasts of Barone's articles