Daniel Wattenberg
Encyclopedia
Daniel Eli Wattenberg is an American journalist
and musician
. He was raised in Bethesda, Maryland
. His father is the pundit
Ben Wattenberg and his aunt is the actress Rebecca Schull
. He received his BA
degree from Columbia University
in 1983.
with several punk rock
bands, and made several dozen appearances at CBGB
. His best-known band, the Casuals, released an underground hit single
in the summer of 1980: "Tokens of Love" backed with "(Don't) Ripple My Lake". The A-side was a safe sex
anthem written at the beginning of the AIDS
epidemic.
before being called back to Foggy Bottom
to serve as a speechwriter for Elliott Abrams
. After the Iran-Contra scandal, he left public service to work as a journalist. He joined the staff of The Washington Times
, and became one of the founding staffers of its spinoff, Insight on the News.
In the early 1990s, he moved on to the magazine American Spectator where he collaborated with David Brock
on a number of exposes of Bill
and Hillary Clinton.
Wattenberg went on to work as a writer and editor for such magazines as The Weekly Standard
and John F. Kennedy, Jr.
's George
. He also collaborated with his father, Ben Wattenberg, on a syndicated newspaper column. In the mid-2000s, he returned to The Washington Times to serve as its arts editor.
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
. He was raised in Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda is a census designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House , which in turn took its name from Jerusalem's Pool of Bethesda...
. His father is the pundit
Pundit (politics)
A pundit is someone who offers to mass media his or her opinion or commentary on a particular subject area on which they are knowledgeable. The term has been increasingly applied to popular media personalities...
Ben Wattenberg and his aunt is the actress Rebecca Schull
Rebecca Schull
Rebecca Schull is an American film and television actress.Schull studied acting in the United States and in Dublin, Ireland...
. He received his BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in 1983.
Early life and career
Daniel Wattenberg was a singer and songwriterSongwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
with several punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
bands, and made several dozen appearances at CBGB
CBGB
CBGB was a music club at 315 Bowery at Bleecker Street in the borough of Manhattan in New York City.Founded by Hilly Kristal in 1973, it was originally intended to feature its namesake musical styles, but became a forum for American punk and New Wave bands like Ramones, Misfits, Television, the...
. His best-known band, the Casuals, released an underground hit single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
in the summer of 1980: "Tokens of Love" backed with "(Don't) Ripple My Lake". The A-side was a safe sex
Safe sex
Safe sex is sexual activity engaged in by people who have taken precautions to protect themselves against sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS. It is also referred to as safer sex or protected sex, while unsafe or unprotected sex is sexual activity engaged in without precautions...
anthem written at the beginning of the AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
epidemic.
Public service and journalism
Wattenberg retired from music in 1983 to join the US State Department. He was first assigned to the embassy in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
before being called back to Foggy Bottom
Foggy Bottom
Foggy Bottom is one of the oldest late 18th and 19th-century neighborhoods in Washington, D.C. The area is thought to have received the name because its riverside location made it susceptible to concentrations of fog and industrial smoke, an atmospheric trait that did not prevent the neighborhood...
to serve as a speechwriter for Elliott Abrams
Elliott Abrams
Elliott Abrams is an American attorney and neoconservative policy analyst who served in foreign policy positions for two Republican U.S. Presidents, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. While serving for Reagan and in the State Department, Abrams, Paul Wolfowitz, and retired U.S. Marine Corps officer...
. After the Iran-Contra scandal, he left public service to work as a journalist. He joined the staff of The Washington Times
The Washington Times
The Washington Times is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. It was founded in 1982 by Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon, and until 2010 was owned by News World Communications, an international media conglomerate associated with the...
, and became one of the founding staffers of its spinoff, Insight on the News.
In the early 1990s, he moved on to the magazine American Spectator where he collaborated with David Brock
David Brock
David Brock is an American journalist and author, the founder of the media watchdog group, Media Matters for America, and a Democratic political operative...
on a number of exposes of Bill
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
and Hillary Clinton.
Wattenberg went on to work as a writer and editor for such magazines as The Weekly Standard
The Weekly Standard
The Weekly Standard is an American neoconservative opinion magazine published 48 times per year. Its founding publisher, News Corporation, debuted the title September 18, 1995. Currently edited by founder William Kristol and Fred Barnes, the Standard has been described as a "redoubt of...
and John F. Kennedy, Jr.
John F. Kennedy, Jr.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Jr. , often referred to as John F. Kennedy, Jr., JFK Jr., John Jr. or John-John, was an American socialite, magazine publisher, lawyer, and pilot. The elder son of U.S. President John F...
's George
George (magazine)
George was a glossy monthly magazine centered on the theme of politics-as-lifestyle co-founded by John F. Kennedy, Jr. and Michael J. Berman with publisher Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. in New York City in September 1995...
. He also collaborated with his father, Ben Wattenberg, on a syndicated newspaper column. In the mid-2000s, he returned to The Washington Times to serve as its arts editor.