Frederic Wood Barnes Jr. (born February 1, 1943) is an American

political commentator A pundit is a person who offers opinion in an authoritative manner on a particular subject area (typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport), usually through the mass media. The term pundit describes both women and men, altho ...

. He was the executive editor of the defunct news publication '' The Weekly Standard'' and regularly appears on the

Fox News Channel The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American multinational conservative news and political commentary television channel and website based in New York City, U.S. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is ow ...

program '' Special Report with Bret Baier''. He was previously co-host of '' The Beltway Boys'' with Mort Kondracke, which previously aired on the Fox News Channel. Barnes remains a prolific writer on presidential and many other political topics as well.

Early life and education

Barnes was born in

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York (state), New York, General George Washington stationed his headquarters in West Point in the summer and fall of 1779 durin ...

. He earned a B.A. degree from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

in 1965.

Career

After spending several years as a journalist with ''The Charleston News and Courier'' in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

, he became a reporter for the '' Washington Star''. He covered the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

and the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

for the ''Star'' before moving to the ''

Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publish ...

'', where he was the national political correspondent. From 1985 to 1995, he was senior editor and

correspondent for ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' (often abbreviated as ''TNR'') is an American magazine focused on domestic politics, news, culture, and the arts from a left-wing perspective. It publishes ten print magazines a year and a daily online platform. ''The New Y ...

''. He also wrote the "Presswatch" media column for the '' American Spectator''. He was a panelist on the public affairs show '' The McLaughlin Group'' from 1985 to 1998, where he was often referred to by the show's host as Freddy "the

Beadle A beadle, sometimes spelled bedel, is an official who may usher, keep order, make reports, and assist in religious functions; or a minor official who carries out various civil, educational or ceremonial duties on the manor. The term has pre- ...

" Barnes. Barnes hosted the radio show ''What's the Story'' for Radio America. He is currently a moderator for the

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American internation ...

show ''Issues in the News''. In 1984, Barnes was chosen to be one of three panelists quizzing then-

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

and challenger

Walter Mondale Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale (January 5, 1928April 19, 2021) was the 42nd vice president of the United States serving from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. He previously served as a U.S. senator from Minnesota from 1964 to 1976. ...

in the first nationally televised debate of the 1984 presidential campaign. Barnes has made

cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...

s in the Hollywood films '' Dave'', '' Getting Away with Murder'', and''

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...

''. He has thrown out the first pitch for a

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

baseball game at

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a ballpark located in Boston, Massachusetts, less than one mile from Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home field of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Boston Red Sox. While the stadium was built in 1912, it was substantia ...

. In 2006 Barnes wrote a favorable biography of President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

titled '' Rebel in Chief.'' Reviewing it in '' The Washington Monthly'', Isaac Chotiner called it "fawning and at times unintentionally amusing", revealing its author as a "perfect Bush hack". He is a member of the board of the

Institute on Religion and Democracy The Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD) is an American Christian conservative think tank that promotes its views among mainline Protestant churches, as well as advocating for its values in the public square. Its critics claim that it has be ...

. As a member of

The Falls Church The Falls Church is an historic Episcopal church, from which the city of Falls Church, Virginia, near Washington, D.C., takes its name. Established in 1732, the parish in 1769 built a brick church building that remains in use today. History ...

, he and his family voted to disaffiliate the congregation from the

Episcopal Church in the United States of America The Episcopal Church (TEC), also known as the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America (PECUSA), is a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion, based in the United States. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is ...

. He is a member of the board of trustees of The Fund for American Studies, in which he also serves as a senior fellow. In the days leading up to the 2008 United States election, Barnes was the only political pundit out of 27 catalogued by the ''

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers ...

'' (including Karl Rove, Alex Castellanos, Matthew Dowd, Ed Rollins, and George Will) to predict a John McCain victory for

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

(286 to 252 electoral votes).

Personal life

Barnes married Barbara Beatty in 1967. The couple has three children.

References

External links

Column archive
at '' The Weekly Standard'' * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Fred 1943 births Living people American biographers American columnists American magazine editors American political commentators American political writers The American Spectator people The Baltimore Sun people American male biographers The New Republic people Nieman Fellows Journalists from Alexandria, Virginia United States Army soldiers University of Virginia alumni The Washington Star people The Weekly Standard people Voice of America people People from Vero Beach, Florida American Anglican Church in North America members