Joe Klein

Joe Klein ( born September 7, 1946) is an American journalist, columnist and author. He is currently a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and participated in the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship. He was known primarily for his roman à clef Primary Colours (English title with a vengeance ), in which he portrayed the election campaign of then-President Bill Clinton. Since 2003, he writes regularly for the American news magazine TIME. In addition, he has been or is suitable for various U.S. media like the New Republic, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Life and the Rolling Stone Magazine working.

Early career

Klein graduated from the Hackley School and the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in American civilization course (English about American society). In 1969, he began his career as a journalist at the Essex County Newspapers and The Times Peadbody in Massachusetts. In 1972, he reported for WGBH Boston; to 1974, he was also editor of The Real Paper in Cambridge (Massachusetts ). From 1975 to 1980 he worked as editor of Rolling Stone Magazine; 1975 to 1977 he was its head office in Washington. After an interview with the actor and director Tom Laughlin, he made friends with this one. Because of this, Klein had 1977 in Laughlin's film Billy Jack Goes to Washington made ​​an appearance as a reporter.

Published in 1980, small book Woody Guthrie: A Life in 1980, and in 1984 Payback: Five Marines After Vietnam. From 1987 to 1992 he was a political columnist for the New York magazine, where he worked for the coverage of the race for the championship citizens of New York was awarded the Peter Kihss Award 1989. Since May 1992, he wrote the column, Public Lives, the National Headliner Award 1994 won at Newsweek. Under Klein's employees Newsweek also a National Headliner Award won for coverage of Bill Clinton's victory in 1992. Besides Klein served from 1992 to 1996 as a consultant for CBS News.

Primary Colours

In January 1996, published anonymously small the roman à clef Primary Colors: A Novel of Politics. It is based on the primaries ( primaries ) of the Democrats in 1992. The book was nine weeks, number one on the bestseller list of the New York Times. Some people, including the previous speech writer Clinton, David Kusnet, and later at Vassar College teaching Professor Donald Foster, Klein could be identified as author of the work. They used literary analysis and compared the book with previous works Klein. Small log, however, he was not the author of the book and condemned Forster publicly. He played in Newsweek continues, that he was the author and even speculated that another author wrote the book. The journalist David Drehle asked Klein in an interview whether he would vouch his journalistic credibility with his denial, to which Klein agreed. On 17 July 1996 Klein finally admitted that the speculation that he was the author of the book, had been right.

Later career

In December 1996, he joined the New York to write his column Letter from Washington. In 2002 he published The Running Mate. Another book, The Natural: Bill Clinton 's Misunderstood Presidency he published in 2002.

In January 2003, he began working for the news magazine TIME. Since then he writes the column in the Area, in which he takes up both national and international issues. It was criticized that small resorted when reporting the Minderheitsführererin Nancy Pelosi and the democratic opposition to interceptions. The column was subsequently withdrawn by TIME few times.

On the Swampland blog of time.com Klein is regularly active as a blogger.

In November 2007 the journalist Glenn Greenwald from the Internet magazine Salon wrote about some factual errors that he had discovered in Klein's article on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act ( FISA ). It reported small that the democratic version of the draft law, the monitoring of any foreign terrorists target requires to be reviewed by the FISA court and that they would therefore give the terrorists the same legal protection as the Americans.

In respect to this alert TIME later published a review. It states that Klein had merely written in the original version of the contribution that the democratic version of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act allow a review of individual foreign surveillance targets. Republicans would supposedly believe that the bill could be interpreted as Democrats do not. Greenwald noted that the text of the legislation would require any individual goals and that the response of TIME disregard this fact. Klein replied that he had to judge neither the time nor legal background to one who was right.

Later, Greenwald reported that TIME did the requests of two congressmen refused to portray himself Klein's false statements to be correct. Greenwald also reported that Senator Russ Feingold was informed by TIME that his letter, which refuted Klein's theories, would be published in another issue.

Politics

In The Natural, his book on Clinton's presidency, Small Clinton's estimated term differently. In his book he writes that the conventions of journalism would keep him in a political niche before to clean adaptation (although his preferences are obviously a columnist of the New Yorker and Newsweek ). Klein's description of Clinton's presidency was also a detailed study of the moderate Democratic positions that were promised by the Democratian Leadership Council.

He is an admirer of George W. Bush, even though he claims to not keep his opinion is shared by ( e). In an interview with Hugh Hewitt Klein said of Bush:

"Let me say did all of the major politicians I've covered in presidential politics in the load two or three times around, he is the most likely to stick with well an issue, even if the polls are bad, and to govern from the as you said. I do not always agree with the Decisions did he makes, but I think he is an honorable one, and when to I've Criticized him, I've tried to criticize him on the substance, and Certainly not on his personality, because i really like the guy. "

"Let me say that he. Politicians of all high, on which I have reported in recent years, the only one who stay tuned to his problems, even if the polls are bad [ ... ] I do not agree with him always, but I think that he is a ehrenswerter man, and if I criticized him, I tried his opinion, but certainly not to criticize his personality because I like the type real. "

Max Boot, a scientist who deals with American foreign policy, and the director of the Anti-Defamation League, Abraham Foxman, were among the critics of Klein's view. Klein is also often criticized by the media critic Bob Somerby.

Klein was criticized by some conservative media for his remark that the Fox News host Glenn Beck, Republican Senator Tom Coburn and the former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin would operate sedition.

Private life

Klein lives with his wife, his daughter Sophie and son Teddy in Westchester County, New York. He also has two grown sons.

In March 2008 he attracted attention when he remarked on the reporting of journalist Tim Russert (NBC ), Chris Matthews and Maureen Dowd (New York Times) about Hillary Clinton made that was seen by many Americans as anti- Catholic. But he later apologized, although inter alia, the media critic Bob Somerby Klein's remark referred to as applicable.

Bibliography

• The natural talent. The misunderstood presidency of Bill Clinton. German translation of Hainer Kober. Siedler, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-886-80786- X

• From the end of politics: how pollsters and campaign strategists ruin democracy. German translation by Hartmut Schickert. Propylaea, Munich 2008, ISBN 3-549-07340-2

• With a vengeance. German translation of Uda Strätling, Brigitte Jakobeit and Christiane Buchner. Ullsteinhaus, Munich 2008, ISBN 3-548-26805-6