Michael Kinsley

Michael Kinsley (born March 9, 1951) is an American political journalist, commentator, television host, and pundit. Primarily active in print media as both a writer and editor, he also became known to television audiences as a co-host on Crossfire. Kinsley has been a notable participant in the mainstream media's development of online content.

Personal life

Kinsley was born in Detroit, Michigan. He attended the Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, then graduated from Harvard College in 1972. At Harvard, Kinsley served as vice president of the University's daily newspaper, The Harvard Crimson. He was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship and studied at Magdalen College, Oxford, then returned to Harvard for law school. While still a third-year law student, he began working at The New Republic and was allowed to finish his Harvard Juris Doctor degree via courses at the evening program at The George Washington University Law School.

Kinsley's first exposure to a national television audience was as moderator of William Buckley's Firing Line. In 1979 Kinsley became editor of The New Republic and wrote that magazine's TRB column for most of the 1980s and 1990s. That column was also reprinted in a variety of newspaper op-ed pages, including the Washington Post, and made Kinsley's reputation as a leading political commentator. Kinsley also served as editor at Harper's (for a year and a half in the early 1980s), managing editor of Washington Monthly (in the mid-1970s, while still in school), and American Editor of The Economist (a short-term, honorary position).

In 2002 Kinsley married Patty Stonesifer, previously married with adult children. Stonesifer is a frequent television commentator who was responsible for the former Microsoft news portion of the MSNBC merger (including Slate Magazine, where Kinsley served as an editor.) Stonesifer served as chief executive officer of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for eleven years, and is now a senior advisor.^[1]

In 2002 Kinsley announced that he had Parkinson's disease.

Crossfire and Slate

In 1989, Kinsley agreed to take a position on CNN's Crossfire, co-hosting with conservative Pat Buchanan. Representing the liberal or left-wing position in the televised political debates, Kinsley combined a dry wit with nerdy demeanour and analytical skills.

Kinsley appeared in three movies during those years: Rising Sun (1993), Dave (1993), and The Birdcage (1996).

After leaving Crossfire in 1995, Kinsley returned to his editorial roots, relocating to Seattle and taking a position with Microsoft as the founding editor of its online journal Slate. In 1999 he was named "Editor of the Year" by the Columbia Journalism Review for his work at that magazine. Kinsley stepped down from Slate in 2002, shortly after disclosing that he had Parkinson's disease.

Subsequent Positions

Kinsley next moved to the Los Angeles Times as the Editorial Page Editor in April 2004. Kinsley maintained his Seattle residence and often worked from there, commuting to Los Angeles on a part-time basis. During his tenure, Kinsley tried to overhaul the paper's editorial page and led an abortive experiment with a Wikitorial, while also receiving criticism from USC professor and feminist advocate Susan Estrich, alleging the lack of editorials written by women. Kinsley announced his departure in September 2005 after a falling out with the publisher.^[2] He returned to writing a weekly column which appeared in The Washington Post and Slate, and in 2006 he served briefly as American editor of The Guardian. He later became a regular columnist for Time magazine.

On July 12, 2006 Kinsley underwent a form of surgery known as deep brain stimulation, to treat his Parkinson's Disease. Initial reports suggest that the operation was a success. According to a joke reference in Time, Kinsley's first words out of the operating room were, "Well, of course, when you cut taxes, government revenues go up. Why couldn't I see that before?"^[3]

In May 2009 Kinsley revealed in a story reviewing a new issue of Newsweek in The New Republic that he had been fired by Time.^[4]

On September 9, 2010, Kinsley, along with MSNBC pundit Joe Scarborough, joined the staff of Politico as the publication's first opinion columnists.

On April 29, 2011, Bloomberg L.P. announced that Kinsley has joined the Bloomberg View editorial board.

Quotes

"A gaffe is when a politician tells the truth." — this definition became known as a Kinsley gaffe."^{[citation needed][5]}

"The scandal isn't what's illegal; it's what's legal." — from Crossfire, CNN, more than one broadcast.

"[A]mbition can never be naked in a political campaign, it must be clothed in deceit." — Time, Jan. 4, 2008

“So why should Christie’s weight be more than we can bear in a president? Why should it even be a legitimate issue if he runs? One reason is that a presidential candidate should be judged on behavior and character . . . . Perhaps Christie is the one to help us get our national appetites under control. But it would help if he got his own under control first.”^[6] - Michael Kinsley, Bloomberg View, September 29, 2011

The above comment by Kinsley was significant enough to be discussed on Face the Nation: On October 2, 2011, on Face the Nation, Bob Schieffer said, "Michael Kinsley, the columnist wrote the other day that Chris Christie cannot be President because-- and I'll just quote what he said--because, "He's too fat." Do you think that's a fair thing to say?"^[7]

Governor Christie's response, on October 4, 2011: "The people who pretend to be serious commentators who wrote about this are among the most ignorant I’ve ever heard in my life. To say that, because you’re overweight, you are therefore undisciplined — you know, I don’t think undisciplined people get to achieve great positions in our society, so that kind of stuff is just ignorant."^[8] See Anti-fat bias

See also

• List of newspaper columnists

References

• Please Don't Remain Calm: Provocations and Commentaries (W. W. Norton, 2008)

1. ^ Kinsley, Michael (July 31, 2008). "The Audacity of Bill Gates". Time. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1828325,00.html. Retrieved May 12, 2010. 
2. ^ Kurtz, Howard (September 14, 2005). "Michael Kinsley, L.A. Times Part on 'Unfortunate Note'". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/13/AR2005091301668.html. Retrieved May 12, 2010. 
3. ^ Kinsley, Michael (July 16, 2006). "Yes, It Really Is Brain Surgery". Time. http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1214919,00.html. Retrieved May 12, 2010. 
4. ^ Kinsley, Michael (2009-05-21). "Backward Runs 'Newsweek'". The New Republic. Archived from the original on 2010-02-19. http://www.webcitation.org/5ney7ndsA. 
5. ^ Cooper, Michael (June 25, 2008). "Campaign Memo No. 1 Faux Pas in Washington? Candor, Perhaps". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/25/us/politics/25memo.html. Retrieved 2010-11-10.  The article in question does not appear to contain the line in quotation marks.
6. ^ Kinsley, Michael (September 29, 2011). "Requiem for a Governor Before He’s in the Ring: Michael Kinsley". Bloomberg View. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-30/requiem-for-a-governor-before-he-s-in-the-ring-michael-kinsley.html. Retrieved 2011-10-04. 
7. ^ Schieffer, Bob (October 2, 2011). ""Face the Nation" transcript: October 2, 2011". CBSNEWS. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/10/02/ftn/main20114486_page3.shtml. Retrieved 2011-10-04. 
8. ^ Christie, Chris (October 4, 2011). "Pundits Pack Meaner Punch Than Comedians’ Fat Jokes". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/05/us/politics/christie-says-jokes-are-ok-but-not-political-debate-on-weight.html. Retrieved 2011-10-06. 

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/04/07/080407fa_fact_kinsley

Further reading

• "Mine Is Longer Than Yours". New Yorker Magazine. April 7, 2008.
• Book: Please Don't Remain Calm: Provocations and Commentaries" (W. W. Norton, 2008)

External links

• Michael Kinsley at the Internet Movie Database
• Kinsley's website, such as it is.
• Archive of Kinsley work at Time magazine
• Video interview/discussion with Kinsley and Robert Wright on Bloggingheads.tv

Persondata
Name	Kinsley, Michael
Alternative names
Short description	American political journalist, commentator television host
Date of birth	March 9, 1951
Place of birth	Detroit, Michigan
Date of death
Place of death