Political Views
In The Natural, his book about the Clinton presidency, Klein gave a mixed assessment of Clinton's time in office. In the book, he wrote: "the conventions of journalism prevent me from fitting too neatly into one political niche (although as a columnist for the New Yorker and Newsweek my predilections are obvious)". Klein's depiction of the Clinton presidency also gave a detailed examination of the moderate Democratic positions espoused by the Democratic Leadership Council, as well as third way politics generally, of which Klein was highly complimentary.
In 2008, Klein caused controversy with comments on the motivations of neoconservatives, when he said:
| “ | The fact that a great many Jewish neoconservatives – people like Joe Lieberman and the crowd over at Commentary – plumped for this war, and now for an even more foolish assault on Iran, raised the question of divided loyalties: using U.S. military power, U.S. lives and money, to make the world safe for Israel. | ” |
American foreign policy scholar Max Boot and the Anti-Defamation League National Director, Abraham Foxman, were among the critics of Klein's views. Klein is also frequently criticized by Bob Somerby, a media commentator.
In May 2009 he invited further controversy when he was quoted in an article in Politico.com, wherein he stated that the reasoning and ideas of prominent conservative commentator Charles Krauthammer were of limited value because of Krauthammer's wheelchair use:
"There's something tragic about him... His work would have a lot more nuance if he were able to see the situations he's writing about."
Klein has been criticized by several conservative publications for accusing Fox News host Glenn Beck, Republican Senator Tom Coburn and former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin of sedition.
In January 2011, during an appearance on CNN's Reliable Sources, Klein criticized the mainstream media for not handling complex issues properly, singling out MSNBC host Ed Schultz:
| “ | I was on Ed Schultz's show to discuss Afghanistan. I was just back from there. It is the most complicated issue imaginable. And the guy writes down on a piece of paper "Get Out Now" and holds it up in front of the screen. That's so stupid and it's so unworthy... it's one of the reasons why people hold in lower regard than they do lawyers. | ” |
In March 2008, Klein aroused controversy after making what many saw as an anti-Catholic remark: "I do believe there's something weird a few of our colleagues have ," he said. "They tend to be Roman Catholics, actually. People like Tim Russert, Chris Matthews, Maureen Dowd." He later apologized. Others, such as media critic Bob Somerby, defended Klein's comment as accurate.
Read more about this topic: Joe Klein
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—James Bryce (1838–1922)
“Meek young men grow up in libraries, believing it their duty to accept the views which Cicero, which Locke, which Bacon, have given, forgetful that Cicero, Locke, and Bacon were only young men in libraries, when they wrote these books. Hence, instead of Man Thinking, we have the book-worm.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)