Beckel, Bob 1950(?)–

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Beckel, Bob 1950(?)–

PERSONAL:

Born c. 1950. Education: Wagner College, B.A. Politics: Liberal Democrat.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Bethesda, MD. Office—George Washington University, Grad School of Political Management, 805 21st St. NW, Washington, DC 20052. E-mail—rgbeckel@earthlink.net.

CAREER:

Political consultant, analyst, television commentator, columnist, and educator. Deputy assistant secretary of state, 1977; consultant to Carter administration; national campaign manager of Walter Mondale presidential campaign, 1984; television commentator, 1988—. Has appeared on CBS This Morning, Larry King Live, and Independent Television News of Britain; cohost of CNN's Crossfire; political analyst for Fox News, 2003—; columnist for USA Today; George Washington University, professor of political strategy.

WRITINGS:

(With Cal Thomas) Common Ground: How to Stop the Partisan War That Is Destroying America, William Morrow (New York, NY), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Political consultant Bob Beckel has worked in liberal politics since his student days when he volunteered in Robert Kennedy's presidential campaign. Later he joined the Peace Corps. He served as Walter Mondale's presidential campaign manager in 1984, and since 1988 he has appeared regularly on television news shows. Beckel, a liberal, teams with conservative Cal Thomas in writing the "Common Ground" forum page for USA Today. The project addresses the issues that polarize the country and seeks ways in which common ground can be achieved. The writing partners expand on these themes in their book Common Ground: How to Stop the Partisan War That Is Destroying America.

As described on the Keppler Speakers Web site, the book is "more a conversation between friends than debate between enemies … [and] puts together conservative and liberal views while trying to hash out a position rather than emphasize the cross-aisle conflict." Beckel explained in an interview with Newsweek writer Tony Dokoupil that Americans truly want to find common ground. Polls conducted in 2006, he said, showed that "polarization, right behind Iraq, was the issue that bothered people the most." Americans are tired of rhetoric that demonizes those who disagree with them by calling into question their patriotism, he said, and of stereotypes that crudely construct political choice along Red State and Blue State myths. According to the authors, such myths persist largely through the efforts of media figures such as talk-radio hosts and bloggers, as well as campaign fundraisers, and they have created what Beckel and Thomas call an "environment for the sole purpose of retaining political power, raising money, or making more money … benefit[ing] a few at the expense of the many."

Indeed, as Beckel admitted to Newsweek Online writer Jamie Reno, he himself played a major role in polarizing political opinion in the United States. As a regular panelist on CNN's Crossfire debate show, he said, "I was one of those people adding fuel to this partisan fire. We were polarizers before polarizing was cool. But it got to the point where it just paralyzed everything." Such black-and-white thinking persists, he went on, because of "money and power, mostly. There are people who make big money and gain pseudo-influence by stirring the pot, by polarizing the electorate, from cable TV shows to fund-raising letters that spread the idea that a policy difference means you love the country less than your opponent. People on my side have promoted this idea that if you are a Democrat and a liberal you love America less. I find that offensive."

Yet there is already a shift away from such rigid thinking, Beckel and Thomas maintain. On issues such as poverty, war, terrorism, immigration, and health-care reform, they write, the country is ready for compromise or consensus. Activists are the ones who continue to promote partisanship, Beckel and Thomas write, but activists comprise only about a third of the country's eligible voters; the majority, by contrast, are interested in coming together on key issues. Furthermore, voters in the 2008 presidential election indicated they wanted a candidate who offers common ground. As Beckel and Thomas explained to Reno, both Barack Obama and John McCain offered such a message to the country. The candidate who was most effective in emphasizing common ground, they added, had a much better chance of winning the 2008 election than one who conveyed a polarizing message.

A writer for Kirkus Reviews warmly welcomed Common Ground's "invitation to civility and reason." Although a Publishers Weekly contributor found the book's "lucid political discussion between a conservative and liberal … refreshing," however, the critic considered Beckel and Thomas's proposals "too utopian to realistically be widely embraced."