Michael Barone, Patron Saint of Political Junkies

Michael Barone, senior political analyst at the Washington examiner, is one of the most important political writers and thinkers of his time. He helped found the Almanac of American Politics in the early 70s and was the lead author for decades. He worked in politics himself, before transitioning to a role as a journalist, author, and pundit - always being an incisive and influential analyst of American politics at each stop along the way. In this conversation, we talk his roots in post-war Detroit, his time working for Democratic candidates and as a Democratic pollster, founding the Almanac, moving from left-of-center to right-of-center, and he gives his thoughts on some of the most pressing issues facing the political system and country today.

IN THIS EPISODE…

Michael’s memories of growing up in post-war Detroit…

The first election Michael remembers in detail…

The up-and-coming politician Michael worked for at an important time…

Michael talks his movement from liberal to conservative…

Michael shares his memories of being on the scene during the momentous 1968 Chicago Democratic Convention…

The off-hand comment that led to Michael’s involvement in forming and writing the Almanac of American Politics…

Michael talks the nuts and bolts that have gone into writing the Almanac for 40 years…

Michael spends several years working with legendary Democratic pollster Peter Hart…

The time when Senator Joe Biden took issue with something Michael wrote in the Almanac…

Michael remembers the impact of Senator Pat Moynihan…

Some of Michael’s favorite political convention memories…

Michael’s involvement in the infamous 1980 convention fights between the forces of Jimmy Carter and Ted Kennedy…

How Michael makes the jump from political consultant to an opinion writer and journalist…

The 3 books that shaped Michael’s political thinking…

Michael’s thoughts on today’s political writing…

Michael talks the unusual place that California holds in today’s politics…

Michael’s take on the current state of both political parties…

Michael compares today’s political scene to the politics of the 1880s…

Michael’s current view on what demographics tell us about politics…

The issue of the last decade on which Michael wishes he’d have been much more active…

AND…the 1967 Detroit riots, 8 Mile Road, the UAW, US-16, the arsenal of democracy, Dan Balz, Big 3 Auto Companies, baloney and malarkey, David Broder, James Buchanan, George W. Bush, Pat Caddell, Jimmy Carter, Jerome Cavanaugh, Bill Clinton, Geoffrey Cowan, Mario Cuomo, Richard D. Daley, Duke University, Dwight Eisenhower, flotsam and jetsam, Gerald Ford, John Kenneth Galbraith, Newt Gingrich, Meg Greenfield, Martha Griffiths, Jon Grinspan, John Gunther, Lou Harris, Hubert Humphrey, Al Hunt, Jim Hunt, Harold Ickes, Jesse Jackson, John Judis, Jack Kemp, John Kennedy, Ted Kennedy, V.O. Key, Lyndon Johnson, John Lindsay, Samuel Lubell, Madison Square Garden, Walter Mondale, The Moynihan Report, Wade McCree, George McGovern, Ralph Nader, Newton’s Second Law of Motion, Richard Nixon, Kirk O’Donnell, Tip O’Neill, Charles Oakman, Barack Obama, obvious impractical proposals, Nancy Pelosi, podium passes, prayers of political scientists, Franklin Pierce, David Price, Oliver Quayle, Nancy Reagan, Ronald Reagan, recessed steering columns, Nelson Rockefeller, George Romney, Tim Russert, E.E. Schattschneider, Mark Shields, superdelegates, supply side economics, John Paul Stevens, Ted Stevens Airport, Ruy Teixeria, Bob Torricelli, Donald Trump, Grant Ujifusa, Carl Wagner, George Wallace, Woodrow Wilson, Worland Wyoming, Sam Yorty, Coleman Young, & more!