Michael D. Barone (born September 19, 1944) is an American conservative political analyst, historian, pundit and journalist. He is best known as the principal author of '' The Almanac of American Politics.'' Barone is also a regular commentator on United States elections and political trends for 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 ...

. In April 2009, Barone joined the '' Washington Examiner'', leaving his position of 18 years at '' U.S. News & World Report''. He is based at the

American Enterprise Institute The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, known simply as the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), is a center-right think tank based in Washington, D.C., that researches government, politics, economics, and social welfare ...

as a resident fellow. He has written several books on American political and demographic history.

Background

Barone was born in

Highland Park, Michigan Highland Park is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An enclave of Detroit, Highland Park is located roughly north of Downtown Detroit, and is surrounded by Detroit on most sides. As of the 2020 United ...

, the son of Alice Katherine (née Darcy) and Charles Gerald "Jerry" Barone, a surgeon. His father was of Italian descent, and his mother of Irish descent. Barone graduated from Cranbrook School in 1962. He received a bachelor's degree from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

in 1966 and a law degree from

Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...

in 1969, where he was an editor of the '' Yale Law Journal''. After law school he clerked for Judge Wade H. McCree of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Although he has been conservative as an adult, in the 1960s he worked as an intern for Jerome Cavanagh, the Democratic mayor of Detroit. He was also a supporter of George McGovern in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

. In 1975, Barone married Joan Shorenstein. She died at age 38 in 1985 after a 10-year battle with cancer.

Political analyst

Barone is a senior political analyst for the '' Washington Examiner'', where he writes a twice weekly column and contributes to the newspaper's blog. His column is syndicated by Creators Syndicate. He is also a frequent contributor during

's election coverage. His political views are predominantly

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

. Barone has said he is not

religious Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural ...

, although he is sympathetic to and respectful of social conservatives. His commentary has largely focused on the topic of

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...

. * Columnist, '' Townhall.com'', 2001–present * Senior political analyst, ''Washington Examiner'', 2009–present * Senior writer, '' U.S. News & World Report'', Washington, 1989–1996, 1998–departure * Senior staff editor, '' Reader's Digest'', Washington, 1996–1998 * editorial writer and

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (periodical), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the ...

, ''

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 ...

'', 1981–1988 * Vice president, Peter D. Hart Research Co., Washington, 1974–81 *

Law clerk A law clerk, judicial clerk, or judicial assistant is a person, often a lawyer, who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by Legal research, researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial ...

to Judge Wade H. McCree, Jr., U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals,

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, 1969–71 In November 2008, Barone said journalists criticized Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin because "she did not abort her Down syndrome baby." Barone later said he was "attempting to be humorous and ... went over the line." Barone covered the 2020 presidential election, writing numerous opinion columns on the race for the Examiner. Barone argued in 2020 that national presidential nominating conventions are no longer needed or useful. He welcomes their replacement by virtual conventions with minimal participation. They were useful before the advent of television in 1952, he says: : National conventions no longer serve their original purpose, or the uses the parties and the press have made of them in the past half-century. The national conventions were, for their first 130 years, a unique communications medium. They were the only place and time where party politicians could communicate frankly and bargain personally. They were the only place where people could discover which candidates had genuine support and which just gave lip service.Michael Barone
"Goodbye, After Nearly Two Centuries, to the National Conventions" ''Rasmussen Reports'' July 24, 2020
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Writings

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 Regnery Publishing is a politically conservative book publisher based in Washington, D.C. The company was founded by Henry Regnery in 1947. In December 2023, Regnery was acquired from Salem Media Group by Skyhorse Publishing, with Skyhorse ...

, 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 popular history of the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...

of 1688 and how it led to the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. * principal co-author, The Almanac of American Politics, (published biennially 1972–) * ''The New Americans: How the Melting Pot Can Work Again'' (Regnery Publishing, 2012) * ''Shaping Our Nation: How Surges of Migration Transformed America and Its Politics'' (Growth Forum, 2013) * ''How America’s Political Parties Change (and How They Don’t)'' (Encounter Books, 2019)

Background

Political analyst

Writings

References

External links