Karl Zinsmeister
Encyclopedia
Karl Zinsmeister is an executive, researcher, and writer. From 2006 to 2009 he served in the White House as President George W. Bush
's chief domestic policy adviser, and Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council
.
where he studied history
. He also spent time as a special student at Trinity College, Dublin
, in Ireland
. He won college rowing
championships in both the U.S. and Ireland. His first job in Washington was as a legislative assistant to U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan
, a New York Democrat
. He was later named DeWitt Wallace Fellow, and eventually appointed to the J. B. Fuqua Chair at the American Enterprise Institute
, a prominent Washington DC think tank, where he researched a range of topics extending from social welfare and demographics to economics and cultural trends.
Zinsmeister's writing has been published in periodicals ranging from The Atlantic Monthly
to Reader's Digest
and the Wall Street Journal. He has been an adviser to many research and policy groups, and has testified before Congress and Presidential commissions numerous times on topics like family policy, daycare, farm subsidies, and the Iraq war. He has made many appearances on television and radio. (See, for instance, multiple appearances contained in C-SPAN archive listed below in external links.) Zinsmeister's work has won several prizes, and been published abroad in Japanese, German, Spanish, Arabic, Polish, Chinese, and many other languages.
For a dozen years before becoming the White House Domestic Policy Adviser (1994 to 2006), Zinsmeister was Editor in Chief of The American Enterprise
, a national magazine covering politics, business, and culture. He built the publication into one of the nation's influential monthly publications of ideas. Author and former Cabinet Secretary William Bennett called it "one of America's finest magazines...intellectually interesting, well-written, lively, wide-ranging, and above all useful." In addition to editing The American Enterprise and running its business operations, Zinsmeister wrote hundreds of articles for the journal, and reported stories from around the U.S. and the globe, on topics like religion and politics, the European economy, new oil drilling techniques in Alaska, suburban neighborhood design, and Wall Street financial innovations.
Zinsmeister was an embedded journalist during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and then served three subsequent months-long embeddings with combat units during the insurgency stage of the war. He shot a documentary film
about soldiers in Iraq, called "WARRIORS", which was nationally broadcast by PBS
.
He wrote three books of Iraq reporting: Boots on the Ground: A Month with the 82nd Airborne in the Battle for Iraq
(the first Iraq War book published by an embedded journalist), Dawn Over Baghdad: How the U.S. Military is Using Bullets and Ballots to Remake Iraq, and Combat Zone: True Tales of G.I.s in Iraq (a non-fiction graphic novel from Marvel Comics
). He edited a book on world population trends, and edited and contributed to a collection of non-fiction short stories.
During his years in the West Wing, Zinsmeister was active in policymaking on topics like the 2008 mortgage and student-loan credit crises, immigration reform, housing, biotechnology and stem cell policies, airport congestion, education reform, transportation issues, health policy, faith-based schooling, an 8,000-job layoff in Ohio, poverty, crime, family policy, civil rights, and care for veterans.
His appointment to the White House was the source of some controversy. In 2004, Zinsmeister posted to the American Enterprise Institute
website an article from the Syracuse New Times about himself. In the process, he altered a statement attributed to him that read "people in Washington are morally repugnant, cheating, shifty human beings." He subsequently admitted that it was "foolish" to correct the mistakes of a young journalist without noting that on the record. This resulted in a heated exchange between White House press secretary Tony Snow
and longtime White House correspondent Helen Thomas
.
After leaving the White House, Zinsmeister returned to the rural upstate New York county where he has family roots, and became an executive with an historic manufacturing firm. He is married and has three children.
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
's chief domestic policy adviser, and Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council
United States Domestic Policy Council
The Domestic Policy Council of the United States is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for considering domestic policy matters, excluding economic matters, which are the domain of the National Economic Council...
.
Biography
Zinsmeister is a graduate of Yale UniversityYale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
where he studied history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
. He also spent time as a special student at Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
, in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. He won college rowing
Sport rowing
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
championships in both the U.S. and Ireland. His first job in Washington was as a legislative assistant to U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Daniel Patrick "Pat" Moynihan was an American politician and sociologist. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected to the United States Senate for New York in 1976, and was re-elected three times . He declined to run for re-election in 2000...
, a New York Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
. He was later named DeWitt Wallace Fellow, and eventually appointed to the J. B. Fuqua Chair at the American Enterprise Institute
American Enterprise Institute
The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research is a conservative think tank founded in 1943. Its stated mission is "to defend the principles and improve the institutions of American freedom and democratic capitalism—limited government, private enterprise, individual liberty and...
, a prominent Washington DC think tank, where he researched a range of topics extending from social welfare and demographics to economics and cultural trends.
Zinsmeister's writing has been published in periodicals ranging from The Atlantic Monthly
The Atlantic Monthly
The Atlantic is an American magazine founded in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1857. It was created as a literary and cultural commentary magazine. It quickly achieved a national reputation, which it held for more than a century. It was important for recognizing and publishing new writers and poets,...
to Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest is a general interest family magazine, published ten times annually. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, its headquarters is now in New York City. It was founded in 1922, by DeWitt Wallace and Lila Bell Wallace...
and the Wall Street Journal. He has been an adviser to many research and policy groups, and has testified before Congress and Presidential commissions numerous times on topics like family policy, daycare, farm subsidies, and the Iraq war. He has made many appearances on television and radio. (See, for instance, multiple appearances contained in C-SPAN archive listed below in external links.) Zinsmeister's work has won several prizes, and been published abroad in Japanese, German, Spanish, Arabic, Polish, Chinese, and many other languages.
For a dozen years before becoming the White House Domestic Policy Adviser (1994 to 2006), Zinsmeister was Editor in Chief of The American Enterprise
The American Enterprise
The American Enterprise was a public policy magazine published by the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C. Its editorial stance was politically conservative, generally advocating free-market economics and a neoconservative U.S. foreign policy.The magazine was published approximately...
, a national magazine covering politics, business, and culture. He built the publication into one of the nation's influential monthly publications of ideas. Author and former Cabinet Secretary William Bennett called it "one of America's finest magazines...intellectually interesting, well-written, lively, wide-ranging, and above all useful." In addition to editing The American Enterprise and running its business operations, Zinsmeister wrote hundreds of articles for the journal, and reported stories from around the U.S. and the globe, on topics like religion and politics, the European economy, new oil drilling techniques in Alaska, suburban neighborhood design, and Wall Street financial innovations.
Zinsmeister was an embedded journalist during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and then served three subsequent months-long embeddings with combat units during the insurgency stage of the war. He shot a documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
about soldiers in Iraq, called "WARRIORS", which was nationally broadcast by PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
.
He wrote three books of Iraq reporting: Boots on the Ground: A Month with the 82nd Airborne in the Battle for Iraq
Boots on the Ground (book)
Boots on the Ground: A Month with the 82nd Airborne in the Battle for Iraq is a book written by journalist Karl Zinsmeister, who was embedded with the storied 82nd Airborne Division during the early days of Operation Iraqi Freedom....
(the first Iraq War book published by an embedded journalist), Dawn Over Baghdad: How the U.S. Military is Using Bullets and Ballots to Remake Iraq, and Combat Zone: True Tales of G.I.s in Iraq (a non-fiction graphic novel from Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
). He edited a book on world population trends, and edited and contributed to a collection of non-fiction short stories.
During his years in the West Wing, Zinsmeister was active in policymaking on topics like the 2008 mortgage and student-loan credit crises, immigration reform, housing, biotechnology and stem cell policies, airport congestion, education reform, transportation issues, health policy, faith-based schooling, an 8,000-job layoff in Ohio, poverty, crime, family policy, civil rights, and care for veterans.
His appointment to the White House was the source of some controversy. In 2004, Zinsmeister posted to the American Enterprise Institute
American Enterprise Institute
The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research is a conservative think tank founded in 1943. Its stated mission is "to defend the principles and improve the institutions of American freedom and democratic capitalism—limited government, private enterprise, individual liberty and...
website an article from the Syracuse New Times about himself. In the process, he altered a statement attributed to him that read "people in Washington are morally repugnant, cheating, shifty human beings." He subsequently admitted that it was "foolish" to correct the mistakes of a young journalist without noting that on the record. This resulted in a heated exchange between White House press secretary Tony Snow
Tony Snow
Robert Anthony "Tony" Snow was an American journalist, political commentator, television news anchor, syndicated columnist, radio host, musician, and the third White House Press Secretary under President George W. Bush. Snow also worked for President George H. W. Bush as chief speechwriter and...
and longtime White House correspondent Helen Thomas
Helen Thomas
Helen Thomas is an American author and former news service reporter, member of the White House Press Corps and opinion columnist. She worked for the United Press and post-1958 successor United Press International for 57 years, first as a correspondent, and later as White House bureau manager...
.
After leaving the White House, Zinsmeister returned to the rural upstate New York county where he has family roots, and became an executive with an historic manufacturing firm. He is married and has three children.
External links
- Web site
- Biographical info from White House years
- Archive of some of subject's C-SPAN television appearances.
- Biographical and professional information from Harvard conference
- Archived material at Real Clear Politics
- Stash of magazine articles
- PBS film produced by subject
- Iraq speech to Seattle World Affairs Council
- Book by subject
- Book by subject
- Author’s graphic novel for Marvel Comics
- Opening presentation to White House education summit
- Google profile