During his next White House assignment, he covered the travails of Bush's second term, from the Iraq War and Hurricane Katrina to Supreme Court nomination fights and the economy. He subsequently published his first book, The Breach: Inside the Impeachment and Trial of William Jefferson Clinton through Scribner, a New York Times bestseller based on his coverage of the impeachment proceedings in Congress. During his first tour at the White House, Baker co-authored the paper's first story about the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal and served as the paper's lead writer during the subsequent impeachment battle. He spent 20 years there, covering the White House during the presidencies of Bill Clinton and George W. He then joined The Washington Post in 1988 as a reporter covering Virginia news. Career Īfter college, Baker worked for The Washington Times for two years. Baker left Oberlin at the school's insistence because, according to him, he 'was not a good student.' Baker never completed the coursework for an earned degree, although he was granted an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts by the university in 2021. Baker attended Oberlin College from 1984 to 1986, where he worked as a reporter and editor for the student newspaper, The Oberlin Review. His mother was a computer programmer and his father was an attorney. Baker has covered five presidencies, from Bill Clinton through Joe Biden.īaker was born in 1967, the son of Linda Gross (later Sinrod) and E. He is the chief White House correspondent for The New York Times and a political analyst for MSNBC, and was previously a reporter for The Washington Post for 20 years. Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and George W.Peter Eleftherios Baker (born July 2, 1967) is an American journalist and author. But the same post‐Vietnam, post‐Watergate electorate that preferred to draw its presidents from “outside the beltway” wanted some assurance that their administrations would be competent in foreign and national security affairs. Starting with Jimmy Carter’s election in 1976, service as governor displaced service in the Senate as the standard credential for successful presidential candidates. Cheney, on the other hand, was “seasoned.”īush’s selection of Cheney fit the late‐twentieth‐century pattern.

“Green” was a word often used to describe Bush.

When he picked Cheney as his vice presidential running mate, he chose someone who had served as White House chief of staff, secretary of defense, and minority whip in the House of Representatives. When Bush ran for president in 2000, his entire experience in government consisted of six years as governor of Texas. If your first instinct is to say anything greater than five years you will be wrong.

Peter baker days of fire