Dick Morris

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21 weeks 4 hours

Website:

DickMorris.com

BIOGRAPHY

Dick Morris, one of the nation's most prominent political consultants, is almost universally credited with piloting Bill Clinton to a stunning comeback re-election victory in 1996, after the president lost Congress to the Republicans two years before. Called “the most influential private citizen in America” by Time magazine, Morris helped steer Clinton to the center and away from the liberal policies he had pursued in his first two years in office. Morris is also credited with advising Clinton to sign the welfare reform bill of 1996 and getting him to back a balanced budget, both key centrist positions.

Morris began his relationship with Clinton in 1977, when he handled the Arkansas attorney general's successful campaign to become the youngest governor in the nation. Morris did not work on Clinton's defeat for re-election in 1980, but he did oversee his comeback victory in 1982, as well as his re-election victories in 1984, 1986 and 1990.

In addition to Clinton, Morris has handled the winning campaigns for more than 30 senators and governors, including Republican Senator and former Majority Leader Trent Lott and former Govs. Bill Weld of Massachusetts and Pete Wilson of California.

In recent years, Morris has turned to foreign campaigns and served as chief strategist for Mexico's reformer Vicente Fox in his upset victory in July 2000 over the PRI, after that party had ruled the nation for 71 years. He also was the chief strategist for the winning campaigns of Fernando de la Rua (Argentina), Jorge Battle (Uruguay), Chen Shui-bian (Taiwan) and, most recently, for Viktor Yushchenko, the Ukrainian presidential candidate who was poisoned during his campaign. He also handled the winning campaign for the new president of Mexico, Felipe Calderon.

In the United States, Morris has become a familiar figure as a commentator for Fox News. He is well known for hard-hitting, nonpartisan, objective commentary about the U.S. political scene. He writes a weekly column for the New York Post, another for The Hill newspaper in Washington, D.C., and another for Fox News.

Morris has written 10 books, including six New York Times best sellers. His most recent, written with his wife, Eileen McGann, is "Outrage: How Illegal Immigration, the U.N., Congressional Ripoffs, Student Loan Overcharges, Tobacco Companies, Trade Protection and Drug Companies Are Ripping Us Off ... and What to Do About It."

The other best-sellers are: "Behind the Oval Office" (his memoir about the Clinton years), "Off With Their Heads" (about the war on terror), "Rewriting History" (a biography of Hillary Clinton he wrote with his wife, McGann), "Because He Could" (about Bill Clinton, also with McGann) and "Condi vs. Hillary" (promoting Condoleezza Rice for president, written with Mcgann). His other books are: "Power Plays," "Vote.com," "The New Prince" and "Bum Rap on American Cities," which he wrote in the '70s.

In November 1999, Morris founded a website in the United States called Vote.com, where people may log on to vote on the major issues of the day. Their opinions are then e-mailed to their senators and representatives and to other significant decision-makers. Over 3 million people have used this site to express their opinions.

As part of his work with Vote.com, Dick -- along with McGann -- founded Legalvote.com, an online jury focus group service. They have conducted online focus groups in over 100 cases, and their clients include two of the top insurance companies in the United States, as well as many of the major plaintiff lawyers in the nation.

Morris lives with McGann, his wife of 30 years, in Florida.

COMMENTARIES

Democrats Losing Support Amongst Seniors

By Dick Morris | 09/09/09

Nowhere is the fallout from Obama's health care proposals more evident than among the elderly, and nothing is more dangerous permanently for the Democratic Party than their increasing disaffection. The Wall Street Journal poll -- taken last week -- reflects a gain by Republicans in party identification, closing the gap from 40-33 in April in favor of the Democrats to a Democratic margin of only 35-34. The data reflects that one third of this... read more »

3 Comments | Related Topics »National |

Obama's Approval Rating is Sinking Fast

By Dick Morris | 09/02/09

The polls this week are a disaster for Barack Obama. Scott Rasmussen has his approval dropping to 45 percent, after several weeks at 49 percent. John Zogby has it even lower, at 42 percent. Beneath the superficial data lies even worse news for the president. Not only is he losing support, but he is losing his political base. Young people, under 30, long a key element of his support, give him no better than break-even ratings with 41... read more »

6 Comments | Related Topics »National |

Obama Seeks Political Cover with Investigation of CIA

By Dick Morris | 08/29/09

After vowing not to become involved in recriminations over the Bush anti-terror policies, President Obama has allowed his attorney general, Eric Holder, to appoint a special prosecutor to dig up all the dirt he can find on the CIA and the anti-terror investigators whose aggressive questioning saved us from countless attacks. Why the switch? Because Obama needs to do something to appease the left that elected him. After refusing to pull out of... read more »

3 Comments | Related Topics »National |

Health Care: Forget the Tribute, Stick to Reality

By Dick Morris | 08/26/09

Sen. Joseph Lieberman's criticism of the Obama health care initiative may prove to be a pivotal turning point in the congressional debate over the increasingly unpopular proposal. Previous commentary about the Obama plans have focused exclusively on their impact on health care in America. The elderly are increasingly recognizing that, whatever its defenders say, extending coverage to 50 million new people -- without any new doctors or nurses or... read more »

2 Comments | Related Topics »National |

New York Times "Death Panel" Rebuttal Misses Fundamental Point

By Dick Morris | 08/17/09

On Friday, Aug. 14, The New York Times ran a front-page story "rebutting" the "rumor" that Obama's health care plan calls for the creation of "death panels" to decide when to pull the plug on sick patients. The rebuttal misses the fundamental truth of the death panel charge. While there will be no federal board that will vote to kill patients, there will be extensive rationing that will, inevitably, lead to... read more »

5 Comments | Related Topics »National |

Obamacare Losing Support Amongst the Elderly

By Dick Morris | 08/12/09

The most ominous signal yet for the Obama health-care plan emerged in the poll by Scott Rasmussen released today. While public support for the plan fell to a new low (42 percent support, 53 percent oppose, down five points in two weeks), the elderly emerged as the strongest opposition group. Those over 65 rejected the plan by 39 percent to 56 percent, while almost half, 46 percent , said they were "strongly opposed" to it. The... read more »

7 Comments | Related Topics »National |

Obama Losing Support From Jewish Constituency

By Dick Morris | 08/10/09

Jews who identify themselves as Democrats strongly agree with the Israeli position and disagree with President Obama's on issues such as a Palestinian state, settlement construction, and trading land for peace. A telephone survey conducted by the National Opinion Research Center of 500 American Jews who say they are Democrats found broad disagreement with the Obama Middle East foreign policy. Asked to choose between Obama's view that "if... read more »

8 Comments | Related Topics »National |

Bill Clinton Props Up North Korea

By Dick Morris | 08/05/09

Was it only a week ago this past Sunday that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the North Koreans "unruly children" on "Meet the Press" and said all they wanted was attention and that "we shouldn't give it to them"? Yes, that was Hillary. The wife of the same Bill Clinton who gave Kim Jung Il 10 years' worth of free good publicity by traveling to North Korea and shining the global spotlight on the "Dear... read more »

4 Comments | Related Topics »National |

Capitol Hill Healthcare Debate Misses Key Point

By Dick Morris | 08/03/09

The entire premise of the discussions and debate on Capitol Hill misses the key point on the question of changing the health care system. Legislators have debated four points: a) How to pay for the package b) How to reduce its cost c) Whether or not to have a government-run insurance company d) What mandate to impose on employers to cover their workers But none of these points copes with the more basic question of where the extra... read more »

7 Comments | Related Topics »National |

Obamacare Faces Growing Opposition Among the Elderly

By Dick Morris | 07/29/09

In 1993-1994, when the Clintons tried to pass health-care reform, the opposition to their proposals was concentrated among middle-age voters, galvanized by the Harry and Louise ads. But opposition to the Obama proposals centers among the elderly, who suspect that it will mean a sharp curtailment of their medical care. The Fox News-Opinion Dynamics Poll of July 21-24 found that voters over 65 opposed the Obama plan by 35 percent to 47 percent.... read more »