Craig Crawford
Craig Crawford (born 1956) is a writer and television political commentator based in Washington D.C., a blogger for CQ Politics, and the author of The Politics of Life and Attack the Messenger. He can be followed on Twitter and Facebook, and is a frequent contributor to The Huffington Post. Crawford produces video commentaries on the web and regularly appears regularly Imus in the Morning. His new book, coming in October (2009) from Scribner, is co-authored with Helen Thomas: "Listen Up, Mr. President -- Everything You Always Wanted Your President to Know and Do."[1]
Background
Craig Crawford was born in Owensboro, Kentucky. His family moved to Orlando, Florida, where his parents, Tabitha and Bill Crawford, encouraged his interest in public affairs. While still in high school, Crawford served as a page to Republican Senator Ed Gurney. In 1974, while attending Stetson University, Crawford worked on the Jimmy Carter presidential campaign. After the 1976 election, Crawford transferred to American University in Washington to intern in the Carter White House press office. Crawford graduated from Stetson University (1978) and Stetson University Law School (1981). He has been a member of the Florida Bar since 1982.
Career
While beginning his law practice, Crawford worked for Democratic candidates John Glenn and Walter Mondale. In 1982, he unsuccessfully ran as a Democratic candidate for Florida’s state legislature. Crawford joined the staff of the Orlando Sentinel in 1985 as a legal affairs and politics reporter. In 1989, he moved to the paper's Washington bureau. In 1997, Crawford left the Sentinel to run The Hotline until 2003, when he joined Congressional Quarterly leading to his current work for NBC, CNBC and MSNBC. [2]
Crawford was a regular contributor to the John Batchelor and Paul Alexander radio show, broadcast from WABC - AM, New York. He also appeared on the CBS Early Show as a political contributor. The television work brought him to the attention of Don Imus, where Crawford is a frequent guest on the Imus in the Morning radio/tv simulcast.
In 2005, Rowman & Littlefield released Crawford's first book, "Attack The Messenger: How Politicians Turn You Against The Media," which talks about "the role of politicians in taking advantage of that public distrust of the media." [3] In 2007, Crawford's second book for Rowman & Littlefield was published -- "The Politics of Life: 25 Rules for a Brutal and Manipulative World." Publisher's Weekly wrote that Crawford "gives Machiavelli a user-friendly 21st century update with this guide to life's struggles for the unwary, the good-natured and the 'never met a man I didn't like' gang.[4]
For TV & radio broadcast inquiries, Craig is represented by Myles Hazleton of N.S. Bienstock. His literary and speaking agent is Diane Nineof Nine Speakers.
Works
- Attack the Messenger: How Politicians Turn You Against the Media.(2005) ISBN 0-7425-3816-8
- The Politics of Life: 25 Rules for Survival in a Brutal and Manipulative World] (2007) ISBN 0-7425-5250-0