Eleanor Clift

Infobox journalist
name = Eleanor Clift


birthname = Eleanor Roeloffs
birth_date = birth date and age|1940|07|07|df=y
birth_place = Brooklyn, New York, USA
education = Hunter College
occupation = Journalist
spouse = William Brooks Clift, Jr.
Tom Brazaitis (1989=2005†)
credits = "Newsweek"
"The Los Angeles Times"
website = http://www.eleanorclift.com/

Eleanor Clift (born 7 July 1940) is a American liberal news editor, columnist, political commentator, pundit, reporter and author. She is currently a contributing editor for "Newsweek" magazine. Her column, "Capitol Letter" is posted each week on the "Newsweek" and MSNBC websites. She is a regular panelist on the nationally syndicated show "The McLaughlin Group", which she has compared to "a televised food fight". [http://www.hws.edu/news/speakers/transcripts/cliftpresforum.asp] She is also a political contributor for the Fox News Channel.

Biography

Early years

Born Eleanor Roeloffs in Brooklyn, New York, Clift grew up in Queens, and went on to attend Hofstra University and Hunter College. She began her career as a secretary at "Newsweek", and one of the first female reporters to earn an internship from the secretary pool. She began her broadcast career on "The Diane Rehm Show" on WAMU-FM, Washington DC, as a Friday week-in-review panelist. She became well known to listeners for her good natured acceptance of ribbing from other panelists and callers to the program.

Career

Her views are generally regarded as being politically liberal. During the Clinton Administration, she was kiddingly referred to as Eleanor "Rodham" Clift or Eleanor "Rodham Clifton," because of her fierce defense of Hillary Rodham Clinton and Bill Clinton. Clift has made some memorable comments on The McLaughlin Group:

:"The GAO will finally issue its report on the White House -- the vandalizing of the White House in between the Clinton-Gore administration -- Clinton and Bush administrations. (Laughter.) Well, it should have been the Gore administration." February 23 2002. [http://www.mclaughlin.com/library/transcript.asp?id=271] :"But I think what we're coming to grips with is the fact that we actually have a mercenary Army, and it doesn't have a nice ring to it. We call it 'volunteers', but we're basically paying people to serve their country. And if you're going to pay people and have a mercenary Army, you're going to have to pay the market rate. And so the bounties are going up - more money for tuition, higher enlistment bonuses - and I think it's appropriate." August 27, 2005. [http://www.mclaughlin.com/library/transcript.asp?id=481] [ [http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=%5CCulture%5Carchive%5C200508%5CCUL20050830b.html Newsweek Reporter Asked to Apologize for 'Mercenary Army' Comment - 08/30/2005 ] ]

She has appeared in four movies. She played a talk show panel member in "Rising Sun" (1993), and appeared as herself in "Dave" (1993), "Independence Day" (1996) and "Getting Away with Murder" (1996).

In 2008, she wrote "Two Weeks of Life: A Memoir of Love, Death, and Politics" which intertwines the events of her own life and those of the nation concerning the Terri Schiavo case during a two-week period in March 2005. In it she examines the way we deal with death in the U.S. both publicly and personally. On 11 July 2008,

Personal life

Clifts first marriage was to the brother of the actor Montgomery Clift, William Brooks Clift, Jr. (1919-1986). They had three sons: Edward Montgomery, Woodbury Blair, and Robert Anderson. She married Tom Brazaitis, Washington columnist for the Cleveland "Plain Dealer" in September 1989. They remained together until his death of kidney cancer on 30 March 2005. [cite news | author=Eleanor Clift | title=Eleanor Clift: Facing Death With Courage | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7357718/site/newsweek | archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20050406143129/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7357718/site/newsweek/ | work=Newsweek | date=1 April 2005 | archivedate=2005-04-06 | accessdate=2008-10-11] [ [http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlDC/in_memoriam/tom_brazaitis_1940_2005_20021.asp mediabistro.com: FishbowlDC ] ]

Bibliography

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References

External links

* [http://www.eleanorclift.com/ Eleanor Clift official website]
* [http://clift.newsweek.msnbc.com/ Capitol Letter column on MSNBC]
* [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,2635,00.html FOX News Biography]
* [http://www.speaking.com/speakers/eleanorclift.html Keynote speaker profile]
*imdb name | id=0166701 | name=Eleanor Clift
* [http://www.calvin.edu/innercompass/media/ic809.mov Inner Compass] - "Women in Political Leadership" TV Interview
* [http://www.calvin.edu/innercompass/media/ic809.mp3 Inner Compass] - "Women in Political Leadership" audio mp3