David S. Broder

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David S. Broder
Born September 11, 1929 (1929-09-11) (age 78),
Chicago Heights, Illinois,
United States.
Occupation Journalist, Columnist,
Teacher, and Writer.
Spouse Ann Creighton Collar

David S. Broder (born September 11, 1929) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author, television talk show pundit, and university professor. He was born in Chicago Heights, Illinois.[1]

Currently, he writes a political column for the The Washington Post twice a week and teaches at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Education

Broder is a graduate of Bloom Township High School in Chicago Heights, Illinois, and received a A.B. in 1947 and a A.M. in 1951, both in Political Science, from the University of Chicago. He served in the United States Army from 1951-1953.[2]

[edit] Career

Before joining the Post in 1966 he worked at the New York Times, Congressional Quarterly, the now defunct Washington Star and the Pantagraph in Bloomington, Illinois.

Today, the longtime columnist is informally known as the "Dean" of the Washington press corps and the "unofficial chairman of the board" by national political writers. For many years he has appeared on Washington Week, Meet the Press, and other current affairs television programs.[3]

Broder has been called "relentlessly centrist" by The New Yorker's political commentator Hendrik Hertzberg.[4]

Broder won his Pulitzer for commentary in 1973 and has been the recipient of numerous awards and academic honors before and since. He is the author of several books about contemporary politics.

In 1990, Broder received the Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award as well as an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Colby College.

In 2001, Broder became a tenured, full professor at the University of Maryland's Philip Merrill College of Journalism while continuing writing full time at The Washington Post. He generally teaches one class a year on politics and the press. This class meets at the Post. Merrill College Dean, Thomas Kunkel, described Broder as the nation's "most respected political journalist" when he announced Broder's hire. Broder has also taught at Duke University (1987-1988).[5]

[edit] David Broder and Karl Rove

David Broder is seen by many as a supporter of George W. Bush political adviser Karl Rove. In a 2003 column, he wrote "I like Karl Rove. In the days when he was operating from Austin, we had many long and rewarding conversations. I have eaten quail at his table and admired the splendid Hill Country landscape from the porch of the historic cabin Karl and his wife Darby found miles away and had carted to its present site on their land." [6] Later, in 2006, he declared that several "publications owe Karl Rove an apology" over their reporting on Karl Rove's alleged role in the leaking of the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame [7]. He has also been a vocal critic of Congressional hearings concerning the firing of eight US Attorneys in 2007[8], hearings which focused on Rove. Broder's comments about Rove have led some observers to question his impartiality with regard to the George W. Bush administration and Rove in particular. [9] [10]

[edit] David Broder and the Clintons

Broder has been critical of both Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton. [11] He told journalist Sally Quinn that "He (Bill Clinton) came in here and he trashed the place and it wasn't his place" and has said that "My view, for whatever it is worth long after the dust has settled on Monica, was that when President Clinton admitted he had lied to his Cabinet and his closest assoc, to say nothing of the public, that the honorable thing was for him to have resigned." [12][13] He has repeatedly warned of the dangers that Bill Clinton's prominence poses to Hillary Clinton's candidacy, writing, for example, that "that is something the country will have to ponder."[14] [15] In a November 9, 2007 on-line question-and-answer session, he told readers that he planned to leave the Clintons' marriage "alone". [16] Six days later, he wrote that the Clintons' marriage presented an "iceberg" to the Democratic party and concluded that "the country must decide whether it is comfortable with such a sharing of the power and authority of the highest office in the land." [17]

[edit] Books

He is author or co-author of seven books:

  • Democracy Derailed: Initiative Campaigns and the Power of Money (A Harvest Book, 2000).
  • The System: The American Way of Politics at the Breaking Point with Haynes Johnson (Little, Brown and Company, 1996).
  • The Man Who Would be President: Dan Quayle with Bob Woodward (Simon & Schuster, 1992).
  • Behind the Front Page: A Candid Look at How the News is Made (Simon & Schuster 1981).
  • Changing of the Guard: Power and Leadership in America (Simon & Schuster, 1980).
  • The Party's Over: The Failure of Politics in America (Harper and Row, 1972).
  • The Republican Establishment: The Present and Future of the G.O.P. with Stephen Hess (Harper and Row, 1967).

[edit] Awards

[edit] Quotes by and about

  • On Bush and Blair: “History will record that both of them saw the threat to the West posed by terrorism and responded courageously.” [1]
  • "Anybody who wants the presidency so much that he'll spend two years organizing and campaigning for it is not to be trusted with the office." (Stolen from Douglas Adams)
  • "[The] way we cover news is to dig for facts in hopes that they will yield an approximation of truth."[20]
  • "He came in here and he trashed the place, and it's not his place."--Broder, on Bill Clinton.[21]
  • "Broder, of course, is a gasbag."--Paul Begala.[22]
  • "We cannot yet calculate the political fallout from Hurricane Katrina and its devastating human and economic consequences, but one thing seems certain: It makes the previous signs of political weakness for Bush, measured in record-low job approval ratings, instantly irrelevant and opens new opportunities for him to regain his standing with the public." [23]
  • "President Bush is poised for a political comeback...Bush now shows signs of renewed energy and is regaining the initiative on several fronts." Broder, on George W. Bush, writing in early 2007.[24]

[edit] Selected articles

[edit] References

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Washington Post biography.
  2. ^ NNBD. Soylent Communications web page.
  3. ^ DePauw University. News, April 11, 2003.
  4. ^ Hertzberg, Hendrik. The New Yorker, August 14, 2006.
  5. ^ University of Maryland. "Washington Post's David Broder to Join Maryland Journalism Faculty," February 1, 2001.
  6. ^ The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, May 16, 2003
  7. ^ Washington Post. September 7, 2006
  8. ^ Washington Post, March 18, 2007
  9. ^ Horton, Scott,Harper's, April 23, 2007
  10. ^ Greenwald, Glenn, Salon February 17, 2007
  11. ^ Washington Post, September 30, 2007
  12. ^ Quinn, Sally,Washington Post, November 2, 1998
  13. ^ Washington Post,, April 26, 2007
  14. ^ Washington Post, May 25, 2006
  15. ^ Washington Post, September 6, 2007
  16. ^ Washington Post, November 9, 2007
  17. ^ Washington Post, November 15, 2007
  18. ^ Bradley University
  19. ^ DePauw University News, ibid.
  20. ^ Abrams, Floyd. Speaking Freely: Trials of the First Amendment. Viking Press, page 62, 2005.
  21. ^ Washingtonpost.com Special Report: Clinton Accused
  22. ^ Paul Begala: David Broder Is a Gasbag - Politics on The Huffington Post
  23. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/03/AR2005090301005.htm
  24. ^ David S. Broder - Bush Regains His Footing - washingtonpost.com

[edit] External links