Ron Brownstein

Part journalist, part historian, and all shrewd political observer, Ron Brownstein explains the complexities of American politics with lucid precision. As a senior editor for The Atlantic, a Contributing Editor for National Journal, and a senior political analyst for CNN, he produces sharp analysis on politics, policy, the electorate, media, healthcare, and the range of issues informed by his strong sense of American political and national history.

Twice a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, Brownstein was cited for “the clarity, consistency, and quality of his political reporting.” He writes weekly columns for both the Atlantic and CNN.com and also appears regularly in National Journal. A prolific and penetrating columnist, Brownstein is, as the Economist said, “one of America’s best political journalists,” and the Washington Post called him “one of the
gold-plated names of political journalism who can still shape big-pictures conventional wisdom” and “who’s doing the job the way it should be done.”

Brownstein has been called “the sharpest observer of American’s political divides” and “an exemplar of a better way,” in an acclaimed feature piece by The Washington Post, which recognized him for his focus on long-term patterns instead of daily gossip, as well as his understanding that politics isn’t just what happens in Washington. His speeches reflect the depth of his knowledge, making him one of the most trustworthy predictors of America’s future.

Getting It Right, Time After Time. Before taking over the political coverage for Atlantic Media Company, Brownstein served as the national political correspondent and a columnist for the Los Angeles Times. In his years at the Times, he earned two finalist nods from the Pulitzer Prize Board for his coverage of the 1996 and 2004 presidential elections. His track record led former President Bill Clinton to cite Brownstein as the “one journalist who generally gets it right, explaining what the
issues are and what’s going on in the country.” In addition, Brownstein served as chief political correspondent and columnist for U.S. News and World Report for seven months in 1998. He also has appeared frequently on Meet the Press, This Week with George Stephanopolous, Face the Nation, the Newshour with Jim Lehrer, and Washington Week in Review. He has also served as an election analyst for ABC.

Brownstein is the author or editor of seven books, including Rock Me on the Water 1974 -The Year Los Angeles Transformed Movies, Music, Television, and Politics, The Power and The Glitter: The Hollywood-Washington Connection, and Storming the Gates: Protest Politics and the Republican Revival. His previous book, Reagan’s Ruling Class: Portraits of the President’s Top 100 Officials, was a Washington Post best-seller for five weeks. He was editor and co-author of Selecting a President and Who’s Poisoning America, and his sixth book, The Second Civil War:  How Extreme Partisanship Has Paralyzed Washington and Polarized America, was named one of the “10 books to curl up with” by the New York Times. His articles on politics, public policy, books and culture have also appeared in a number of newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times Magazine, Esquire, Vanity Fair, the New Republic, the Financial Times, the Washington Monthly, the Wall Street Journal, the Times of London, the Times Literary Supplement, the Boston Globe, the Chicago Sun-Times, Newsday, and the Miami Herald.