Keppler

About Eleanor Clift

A contributing editor at Newsweek, Eleanor Clift has been in the center of Washington’s political arena from Presidents Carter to Obama. She regularly reports on national politics and the influence of women in politics.

Eleanor Clift and her late husband, Tom Brazaitis, who was also a journalist, co-authored two books, War Without Bloodshed: The Art of Politics, a road map through the byways of the Washington that teachers don’t teach in civics classes, and Madam President: Shattering the Last Glass Ceiling, which examines the potential for a woman president. Clift’s subsequent Founding Sisters chronicles the suffrage struggle for women and accompanied the HBO movie, Iron Jawed Angels starring Hilary Swank and Angelica Houston. Her most recent book, Two Weeks of Life: A Memoir of Love, Death, and Politics, details her husband’s death, paralleling his in-home hospice care with the Terri Schiavo case that gripped the nation.

Eleanor Clift was one of the reporters on the Democratic side contributing to Newsweek’s best-selling book on the 2008 campaign, A Long Time Coming. She is a regular panelist on the syndicated talk show, The McLaughlin Group, and provides Sunday morning commentary on MSNBC. Playing herself, Clift has appeared in several films, including Independence Day, Rising Sun, Murder at 1600 Pennsylvania, and Dave, as well as the CBS series, Murphy Brown.

As a cutting-edge political speaker, Eleanor Clift guides audiences through the corridors of power with an insider’s view of legislative and political intrigue. She provides a fresh, entertaining, and informative overview of what’s happening in the nation’s capital, and shares her wise and seasoned perspective on the practical issues of the day. Her column, "Capitol Letter," is posted each Friday on Newsweek.com and MSNBC.com.

Eleanor Clift's Speech Topic(s)

• An Insider's View of Washington
  Media speaker Eleanor Clift discusses everything from the transformation in how we communicate in the Age of Obama to the policy and personnel changes underway in the biggest shift of political power the country has seen in decades. As a reporter and writer in Newsweek’s Washington bureau, Clift shares insights into the new post-partisan spirit President Obama promises to bring to politics as lawmakers grapple with the most daunting set of problems before the country since FDR took the reins of power during the Great Depression.