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Eleanor Clift      

Columnist for Daily Beast, Former Newsweek Correspondent, McLaughlin Group Panelist

Eleanor Clift is a columnist for the Daily Beast, an online publication. She writes about politics and policy in Washington, and the partisan clashes that make governing almost impossible. Clift has covered every presidential campaign since 1976 and brings her unique perspective to analyze the dynamics of various elections, including the 2016 race.

Clift is best known as a panelist on the syndicated talk show, "The McLaughlin Group." Although the original show ended a 34-year run with the death of the host in 2016, Clift continues to appear on the revived version of the program. She has appeared as herself in several movies, including "Dave," "Independence Day," "Murder at 1600," "Rising Sun," and the CBS series, "Murphy Brown." Clift and her late husband, Tom Brazaitis, who was a columnist for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, wrote two books together, "War Without Bloodshed: The Art of Politics" (Scribner, 1996), and "Madam President: Shattering the Last Glass Ceiling" (Scribner, 2000). Clift's recent book, "Two Weeks of Life: A Memoir of Love, Death and Politics" (Basic Books, 2008), is about the loss of her husband together with an examination of how we deal with death in America. "Selecting a President," written with Matthew Spieler (Thomas Dunne Books, published in 2012), examines the process that for all its flaws is better than the alternative.

Formerly Newsweek’s White House correspondent, Clift also served as congressional and political correspondent for six years. She was a key member of the magazine’s 1992 election team, following the campaign of Bill Clinton from the start to inauguration day. In June 1992 she was named Deputy Washington bureau chief. Clift began her career as a secretary to Newsweek’s National Affairs editor in New York. She was one of the first women at the magazine to move from secretary to reporter. Clift left Newsweek briefly in 1985 to serve as White House correspondent for The Los Angeles Times. She returned to Newsweek the following year to cover the Iran-Contra scandal, which embroiled President Reagan and tarnished his administration.

Clift lives in Washington, D.C., where she is on the advisory council of the International Women’s Media Foundation, the board of the American News Women’s Club, the Board of Governor’s of the National Hospice Foundation, and the board of Respect Ability, which advocates for people with disabilities. Additionally, she contributes her insights to the Daily Beast, focusing on the evolving political landscape and key issues such as the Affordable Care Act.

Speech Topics

Political Activism

Donald Trump won the Electoral College and Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, a split decision that underscores the divisive nature of our politics. Trump says as president he will continue to hold his signature rallies while Democrats vow to take to the streets if necessary to protest Trump from thinking he has a mandate. Aside from marching, can Democrats turn their disappointment in the 2016 election outcome into a new political activism that can rebuild the party?

Media and Politics

The media took a lot of heat for how they covered the 2016 election, and how they forecast a Hillary Clinton win for months, dismissing Donald Trump as a clown and potentially affecting the outcome. How does the media adjust to Trump’s Reality Show style of politics where facts are often disregarded and fake news is more believed than reported news stories? Clift can talk personally about the changing media landscape. After spending most of her career at Newsweek magazine, she made the conversion to new media and writes for the Daily Beast web site.

Women and Politics

Hillary Clinton’s failed second bid for the presidency reminds us that sexism is still evident in the way a female candidate is covered. A woman will eventually break the highest, hardest glass ceiling. The 2016 election brought four new accomplished Democratic women to the U.S. Senate, and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley will have a visible role as Ambassador to the United Stations in the new administration. Who are the up and comers?

President Trump: The Peril and the Promise

Two thirds of voters had doubts about Donald Trump’s fitness to be president, yet they voted for him anyway because they wanted someone to shake up Washington. Will Trump deliver on his campaign promises?

Media

The shrinking role of the mainstream media and its impact on politics. Can newspapers survive? Does anybody under 30 give a hoot if they don't? Barack Obama won the presidency in part because he understood the new tools of communication and mobilized them to his advantage. He lost that connection when he became immersed in governing. His re-election hinges on his ability to get all those new voters he inspired in ’08 back to the polls in 2012. Clift can talk personally about the changing media landscape now that Newsweek is merging with the Daily Beast and will be under the editorial direction of Tina Brown, the iconic editor of our age.

First Ladies

Michelle Obama fully understands the power of her platform, and she is using it to convey the priorities and values she shares with her husband. Her campaign against childhood obesity and the garden she planted on the South Lawn as a teaching tool for inner-city kids touch on important issues yet steer clear of controversy, which is how Obama, a Princeton and Harvard-educated lawyer, navigates the line between style and substance.

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Healthcare

Republicans campaigned on a promise to repeal health care reform. Clift can talk about the politics as well as offer a personal perspective on end of life care and the choices before us individually and as a society. Doctors can tell us what we can do; they can't tell us what we should do. ("Two Weeks of Life" is now also in paperback).

Women and Politics

Hillary Clinton didn't win the presidency, dashing the hopes of a generation of women. From suffrage to sexism, Clift looks at the obstacles that remain and how to shatter the last glass ceiling. Also, examining what’s ahead for Hillary Clinton, who’s become the indispensable woman in the Obama administration with speculation about her as the next Secretary of Defense, or replacing Joe Biden as vice president.

Divided government

What are the prospects for bipartisanship? And how will the newly empowered Republicans handle the rise of the Tea Party? Will Maine Senator Olympia Snowe become an Independent rather than face a primary challenge from the right? Third party politics: Voters don’t like either major party. Time for a real change? The presidency: Sizing up the candidates for the GOP. Which one can navigate the treacherous primary terrain? Anniversaries – 2012 is the centennial year of Ronald Reagan’s birth and the 50th anniversary of JFK’s inauguration. What can these iconic presidents teach us? Is our political system broken, or is it leadership that we’re lacking?

Politics

President Obama: Can he recover the magic? After the midterm shellacking, what has Obama learned, and how will he retool his presidency? Is he a one-term president?

Two Weeks of Life: The Intersection of Medicine and Morality

Eleanor Clift watched her husband, journalist Tom Brazaitis, dying of cancer at home at the same time as she was commenting on the debate over Terri Schiavo, who was dying in a Florida hospice. The two passed away within a day of each other. Clift's latest book Two Weeks of Life: A Memoir of Love, Death, and Politics alternates between these two stories to provide a moving commentary on how we deal, or fail to deal, with dying in modern America. Clift will provide audiences with:

Insight into the struggle of how and when to end life

How America has changed since the Schiavo case

What individuals can do when facing the same choices

Eleanor Clift on Today's News

One of Washingtons best known and most respected journalists, Eleanor Clift lends her thoughtful analysis on today most pressing issues including:

Politics What will President Obama bring to his second term? Divided government what are the prospects for bipartisanship? Third party politics Voters dont like either major party. Time for a real change? Anniversaries 2012 was the centennial year of Ronald Reagans birth and the 50th anniversary of JFKs inauguration. What can these iconic presidents teach us? Is our political system broken or is it leadership that were lacking?

Women and Politics Hillary Clinton didn't win the presidency in 2008, dashing the hopes of a generation of women. From suffrage to sexism, Clift looks at the obstacles that remain and how to shatter the last glass ceiling. Also, examining whats ahead for Hillary Clinton, whos become the indispensable woman in the Obama Administration.

Health care Republicans continue to refute health care reform. Clift talks about the politics as well as offer a personal perspective on end of life care and the choices before us individually and as a society. Doctors can tell us what we can do; they can't tell us what we should do.

First Ladies Michelle Obama fully understands the power of her platform, and she is using it to convey the priorities and values she shares with her husband. Her campaign against childhood obesity and the garden she planted on the South Lawn touch on important issues yet steer clear of controversy, which is how Obama, a Princeton and Harvard-educated lawyer, navigates the line between style and substance.

Media The shrinking role of the mainstream media and its impact on politics. Can newspapers survive? Does anybody under 30 give a hoot if they don't? Barack Obama won the presidency in 2008 and re-election in 2012 in part because he understood the new tools of communication and mobilized them to his advantage. Clift talks personally about the changing media landscape with the merger of Newsweek and the Daily Beast and Newsweek foregoing its' print edition to go digital.

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