Buchanan, Patrick J. (1938–)

PATRICK J. BUCHANAN was born in Washington, D.C. Intelligent and strong academically, Buchanan attended Georgetown University and graduated in 1961 with a Bachelor of Arts in English and philosophy. Then he received a graduate M.S. degree from the Columbia School of Journalism in 1962. After completing his schooling, Buchanan accepted a post as an editorial writer for the St. Louis Globe-Dispatch, where he worked until 1966.

After leaving St. Louis, Missouri, Buchanan became a speechwriter for Richard Nixon. He worked for Nixon from 1966 to 1974 and escaped from Nixon's administration and the Watergate scandal relatively unharmed. Much later, it was revealed in a declassified 1972 White House memo that Buchanan had endorsed activities that aimed to harass Democratic campaigners, even though he had told the 1973 Senate Watergate committee that he didn't know of any proposed or enacted actions designed to covertly harass political opponents. As a result of being unscathed, he was able to return to the White House as an assistant to President Gerald Ford, who even later nominated Buchanan as the U.S. ambassador to South Africa, although he never took the post. After the Ford administration, Buchanan went on to become President Ronald Reagan's director of public communications, dealing with controversial issues including the Iran-Contra scandal.

Drawing upon his vast experience in the White House and his strong educational background, Buchanan was able to become a well-known conservative and political journalist. Outside of government positions, he has cohosted CNN's popular Crossfire talk show from 1987 to 1991, from 1992 to 1995, and from 1996 to 1999. He has worked as a widely syndicated newspaper columnist, even during his years in the White House, from 1975 to 1985 and from 1987 to 1999. Buchanan continues to spend most of his time writing and is the author of numerous political books.

Politically, Buchanan has sought but been unable to attain election to the White House, losing his bids for the presidential nomination of the Republican Party in 1992 and 1996. In the 2000 election, after leaving the Republican Party during the caucus circuit, he became the presidential nominee for the Reform Party. His main political proposals all focus on his America First platform, which is based upon highly protectionist trade policies and a pro-life social and moral stance. Going into the 2000 campaign, Buchanan did have the benefit of nationwide name recognition as a result of his government work and journalism background, but he had trouble making any significant progress beyond his core constituency. In the 2000 polls leading up to the election, Buchanan never had more than 6 percent of the projected vote.

Buchanan advocated his America First policies as well as pursued a conservative Stop Bush agenda. Unfortunately for Buchanan, two other social conservatives, Steve Forbes and Gary Bauer, entered the 2000 campaign, splitting Republican voters into three different campaign camps that wanted someone other than Bush. After taking fifth place in an Iowa Republican straw poll in 1999, behind Forbes and Bauer, Buchanan officially left the Republican Party and campaigned with the Reform Party, eventually accepting its presidential nomination.

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