Patrick Buchanan
Patrick ("Pat") Buchanan is a political figure in the U.S., from the paleoconservative wing of American conservatism. He campaigned twice for the U.S. Republican Party presidential nomination, and was the U.S. Reform Party candidate in 2000. He is now a columnist in many outlets, a political analyst for MSNBC, chairman of The American Cause Foundation and an editor of The American Conservative.
Educated as a journalist, he became Richard Nixon's first full-time assistant in the 1966 campaign. He served in the Nixon White House from 1966 to 1974, and was Ronald Reagan's director of communications, 1985-1987. He was Reagan's main speechwriter and attended four summits, including Mr. Nixon’s historic opening to China in 1972, and Ronald Reagan’s Reykjavik summit in 1986 with Mikhail Gorbachev.
Leaving the White House, he challeged President George H. W. Bush in the Republican primaries, winning in New Hampshire. After 1974, he returned to journalism and occasional politics, including the first of the panel shows featuring heated argument: NBC’s The McLaughlin Group, and CNN’s Capital Gang and Crossfire.
Allegations of racism
While there is little question he is a nativist, he has been embroiled in charges and countercharges of racism, which he denies. He wrote, in March 2008, that Barack Obama had remained silent when his minister, Jeremiah White, had made allegations of white racism. "Barack says we need to have a conversation about race in America. Fair enough. But this time, it has to be a two-way conversation. White America needs to be heard from, not just lectured to." [1] The Anti-Defamation League challenged his appearance on a radio show, "Political Cesspool" to promote his book, Churchill, Hitler, and the Unnecessary War: How Britain Lost Its Empire and the West Lost the World, a show hosted by what ADL Executive Director Abraham Foxman white supremacist James Edwards. Foxman said "It's not as if he did this by accident,.... "Anyone who would have made inquiries into the nature of this program would have realized that it is an outlet for racism, anti-Semitism and hate."[2]
Education
Master's degree in journalism, Columbia University
References
- ↑ Patrick J. Buchanan (21 March 2008), "A Brief for Whitey", Human Events
- ↑ Pat Buchanan Promotes New Book On Racist Radio Show, Anti-Defamation League, 30 June 2008