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Joe Klein (born September 7, 1946) is an American political commentator and author. He is best known for his work as a columnist for ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' magazine and his novel '' Primary Colors'', an anonymously written
roman à clef A ''roman à clef'' ( ; ; ) is a novel about real-life events that is overlaid with a façade of fiction. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people and the "key" is the relationship between the non-fiction and the fiction. This m ...
portraying
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
's 1992 presidential campaign. Klein is currently a member of the
Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank focused on Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organi ...
and is a former
Guggenheim Fellow Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon individuals who have demonstrated d ...
. In April 2006 he published '' Politics Lost'', a book on what he calls the "pollster–consultant industrial complex." He has also written articles and book reviews 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 ...
'', ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'', ''
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'', and ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
''.


Early life and career

Klein was born in Rockaway Beach, Queens, the son of Miram (née Warshauer) and John Klein, a printer. His maternal grandfather was professional musician Frank Warshauer. He has referred to his heritage as
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
. Klein graduated from the Hackley School and the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
with a degree in American civilization. In 1969 Klein began reporting for the Essex County Newspapers, and ''The Peabody Times'' in
Peabody, Massachusetts Peabody () is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 54,481 at the time of the 2020 United States census. Peabody is located in the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore region of Massachusetts, and is known ...
. In 1972 he reported for Boston's WGBH, and until 1974 he was also the news editor for '' The Real Paper'' in
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
, Massachusetts. He was a contributing editor for ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' from 1975 to 1980, and Washington bureau chief from 1975 to 1977.Time Magazine Biography
, Accessed November 2007
He became friends with actor-director Tom Laughlin after interviewing him for ''Rolling Stone'' and appeared briefly as a reporter in Laughlin's 1977 film '' Billy Jack Goes to Washington''. Klein published ''
Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer, songwriter, and composer widely considered to be one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American Left, A ...
: A Life'' in 1980 and ''Payback: Five Marines After Vietnam'' in 1984. He was a political columnist for '' New York'' from 1987 to 1992, winning the Peter Kihss Award for his reporting on the 1989 race for
mayor of New York In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...
. In May 1992 he joined ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...
'' and wrote the column "Public Lives," which won a National Headliner Award in 1994. ''Newsweek'' also won a National Magazine Award for their coverage of
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
's 1992 victory. From 1992 to 1996 he was also a consultant for
CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio broadcaster CBS. It is headquartered in New York City. CBS News television programs include ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs ''CBS News Sunday Morn ...
, providing commentary.


''Primary Colors''

In January 1996, Klein anonymously published the novel ''Primary Colors: A Novel of Politics'', based on the 1992 Democratic presidential primary. The book spent nine weeks as number one on the ''New York Times'' bestseller list, with its author listed as "Anonymous." Several people, including former Clinton speechwriter David Kusnet and, later, Vassar professor Donald Foster correctly identified Klein as the novel's author, based on a literary analysis of the book and Klein's previous writing. Klein denied writing the book and publicly condemned Foster. Klein denied authorship again in ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...
'', speculating that another writer wrote it. ''
Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' Style editor David Von Drehle, in an interview, asked Klein if he was willing to stake his journalistic credibility on his denial, to which Klein agreed. On July 17, 1996, Klein admitted that the speculation had been correct.


Later career

In December 1996 he joined ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'' to write the Letter from Washington column. In 2000 he published ''The Running Mate'', a sequel of sorts to ''Primary Colors''. In March 2002 Klein published ''The Natural: Bill Clinton's Misunderstood Presidency'', an account of Clinton's two terms in office. In January 2003, he joined ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' to write a column called In the Arena on national and international affairs. It appears in ''Times upfront Notebook section and has been criticized for its reporting about then– minority leader
Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi ( ; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who was the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 52nd speaker of the United States House of Representatives, serving from 2007 to 2011 an ...
and the Democratic opposition to warrantless wiretapping. The column has been the source of several retractions by ''Time''. Klein was a regular blogger on time.com's now-defunct ''Swampland'' blog. In November 2007, ''
Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...
'' columnist
Glenn Greenwald Glenn Edward Greenwald (born March 6, 1967) is an American journalist, author, and former lawyer. In 1996, Greenwald founded a law firm concentrating on First Amendment to the United States Constitution, First Amendment litigation. He began blo ...
wrote about what he alleged were factual errors in a Klein story about the
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA, , ) is a Law of the United States, United States federal law that establishes procedures for the surveillance and collection of foreign intelligence on domestic soil.terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...
target's calls to be approved by the FISA court" and that it, therefore "would give terrorists the same legal protections as Americans." ''Time'' later published a comment: "In the original version of this story, Joe Klein wrote that the
House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...
Democratic version of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) would allow a court review of individual foreign surveillance targets. Republicans believe the bill can be interpreted that way, but Democrats don't." Greenwald noted that the text of the legislation does not require court review of individual targets, and that ''Time'''s response disregards this fact. Klein's response was, "I have neither the time nor legal background to figure out who's right." Later, Greenwald reported that ''Time'' "refused the requests of two sitting members of Congress ... to correct Klein's false statements in Time itself." Greenwald has reported that Senator Russ Feingold has been informed by ''Time'' that his letter rebutting Klein will be published in a forthcoming issue. In October 2012 Klein was criticized by Glenn Greenwald for revealing on MSNBC's Morning Joe program his advocacy of U.S. drone strikes. Klein dismissed child deaths caused by drones in the countries where they are operating, stating that the bottom line, in the end, was to ask "whose 4-year-olds get killed? What we're doing is limiting the possibility that 4-year-olds here will get killed by indiscriminate acts of terror." In a June 2013 cover story for ''Time'' magazine, Klein reported on Oklahoma tornado relief, but came under fire for implying secular humanists did not help deliver aid. Klein later clarified he only meant to refer to "organized" secular humanist groups, a claim that was also contested and called inaccurate. In October 2014 Klein traveled to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, for his article in ''Time'' magazine titled "Shut down in Tuscaloosa." Klein interviewed a small number of academics from the University of Alabama. Klein's article came under fire from the focus group he interviewed due to allegations of misquotes, improper citations, and wrong names used in the interview.


Political views

In the 1990s, Klein wrote an influential cover story for ''Newsweek'' defining and, to some extent, defending
radical centrism Radical centrism, also called the radical center, the radical centre, and the radical middle, is a concept that arose in Western world, Western nations in the late 20th century. The ''Political radicalism, radical'' in the term refers to a willi ...
, "Stalking the Radical Middle." He said radical-middle activism was fueling "what is becoming a significant intellectual movement, nothing less than an attempt to replace the traditional notions of liberalism and conservatism." Some of Klein's later journalism is in that same vein. In ''The Natural'', his book about the Clinton presidency, Klein gave a mixed assessment of Clinton's time in office. In the book, he wrote: "The conventions of journalism prevent me from fitting too neatly into one political niche (although as a columnist for the ''New Yorker'' and ''Newsweek'' my predilections are obvious)." Klein's depiction of the Clinton presidency also gave a detailed examination of the moderate Democratic positions espoused by the Democratic Leadership Council, as well as
third way The Third Way is a predominantly centrist political position that attempts to reconcile centre-right and centre-left politics by advocating a varying synthesis of Right-wing economics, right-wing economic and Left-wing politics, left-wing so ...
politics generally, of which Klein was highly complimentary. In January 2011, during an appearance on
CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
's '' Reliable Sources'', Klein criticized the mainstream media for not handling complex issues properly, singling out
MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...
host Ed Schultz:


Friction with conservatives


Jewish neoconservatives and divided loyalties

In 2008, Klein caused controversy with comments on the motivations of
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
neoconservatives, when he said: American foreign policy scholar Max Boot and the Anti-Defamation League national director, Abraham Foxman, were among the critics of Klein's views. In an interview published in ''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...
'' magazine discussing the controversy, Klein stated


Other

In May 2009 he invited further controversy when he was quoted in a Politico.com article, wherein he stated that the reasoning and ideas of prominent conservative commentator Charles Krauthammer were of limited value because of Krauthammer's wheelchair use:
There's something tragic about him. ... His work would have a lot more nuance if he were able to see the situations he's writing about.
Klein has been criticized by several publications for accusing former CNN's Headline News and Fox News host Glenn Beck, Republican senator Tom Coburn, and former Alaska governor
Sarah Palin Sarah Louise Palin (; Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, and author who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 Republican vice presidential nomi ...
of
sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech or organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, establ ...
.


Personal life

Klein's first wife was Janet Eklund. The couple were married from 1967 to 1975 and have two children, Christopher and Terry. , Klein lives in
New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle ( ; in ) is a Political subdivisions of New York State#City, city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately from Midtow ...
with his second wife, swimwear designer Victoria Kaunitz, with whom he has two children, daughter Sophie and son Teddy.


See also

* Afghanistanism, for his comment on the subject


References


External links


Time Magazine columnist profile
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Klein, Joe 1946 births 20th-century American biographers 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American non-fiction writers American columnists American magazine staff writers American male non-fiction writers American male novelists American political writers Critics of neoconservatism Hackley School alumni Jewish American journalists Jewish American non-fiction writers Jewish American novelists Journalists from New York (state) Living people Novelists from New York (state) People from Rockaway, Queens Radical centrist writers Rolling Stone people The New Republic people The New York Times journalists The Washington Post columnists Time (magazine) people University of Pennsylvania alumni Writers from New Rochelle, New York Journalists from Queens, New York 21st-century American male writers American male biographers 20th-century pseudonymous writers 21st-century pseudonymous writers 21st-century American Jews