This Queens native became an award-winning journalist
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TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | SEPT. 18-SEPT. 25, 2020 17
In conjunction with the
Greater Astoria Historical
Society, TimesLedger Newspapers
presents noteworthy
events in the borough’s
history.
Born on Sept. 7, 1946, and
raised in Rockaway Beach,
Joe Klein is a political commentator
and author. He is
best known for his 1996 anonymous
book Primary Colors,
a work of fiction closely
based on Bill Clinton’s 1992
presidential campaign.
His book was made into a
movie in 1998 starring John
Travolta. He has also written
articles and book reviews for
The New Republic, The New
York Times, The Washington
Post, Life, and Rolling Stone.
The Queens native attended
the prestigious Hackley
School in Tarrytown,
New York, and then graduated
from the University of
Pennsylvania. He began his
career in journalism writing
for several local Boston-area
newspapers and reporting
for the WGBH television station
.H
is work began to reach
a more national audience in
the mid-1970s when he became
a contributing editor
and Washington, DC bureau
chief for Rolling Stone magazine.
After interviewing actor
and director Tom Laughlin
for a Rolling Stone article,
the two became friends and
Klein even made a cameo
appearance as a reporter in
Laughlin’s 1977 film Billy
Jack Goes to Washington.
In the 1980s, the Rockaway
Beach native began
writing books. In 1980, he
published “Woody Guthrie:
A Life,” about the famous
musician and former Queens
resident. Four years later,
he wrote the critically acclaimed
“Payback: Five Marines
After Vietnam,” which
detailed the struggles of veterans
rebuilding their lives
after returning from brutal
combat.
Joe Klein began earning
recognition for his reporting,
winning the Peter Kihss
Award for his coverage of the
1989 New York mayoral race.
In 1992, the award-winning
journalist joined Newsweek,
where his column Public
Lives won the National Headliner
Award in 1994.
In the 1990s, he also provided
political commentary
for CBS News. Klein followed
up his literary success with
“The Running Mate” in 2000,
and “The Natural: Bill Clinton’s
Misunderstood Presidency”
two years later.
Throughout his long career,
the Queens native has
not shied away from controversy
or criticism of fellow
journalists. Although
Klein himself is Jewish, he
criticized Jewish neoconservative
support for the 2003
invasion of Iraq. He has also
criticized some in his profession
for a perceived failure to
address the complex nature
of current events. In a 2011
appearance on CNN’s Reliable
Sources, he criticized
another commentator’s portrayal
of the war In Afghanistan
. “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
(pundits) in lower regard
than they do lawyers.”
Klein also offered his
views on electoral politics,
with this to say on two contenders
in the 2020 presidential
race.
“I look at Bernie Sanders
and see an Old Testament
prophet kvetching about
greed and corruption. There
is a place for that in American
politics, but not in the
White House.”
“Trump doesn’t live in the
same universe as Harry Truman.
He belongs to the same
universe as Snooki. And his
supporters know it. They
take vengeful pleasure in
his profound lack of seriousness.
They protest complexity.
Why can’t we take Mosul
in three days? Why can’t we
have manufacturing jobs and
cheap goods at Walmart at
the same time. Why can’t we
just have immigrants from
Europe?”
For further info, call the
Greater Astoria Historical
Society at 718-278-0700 or
www.astorialic.org.
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