The Washington Post

Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne Jr. examines the strengths and weaknesses of competing political philosophies. His analysis of American politics and the trends of public sentiment is recognized as among the best in the business.

Dionne spent 14 years with the New York Times, reporting on state and local government, national politics, and from around the world, including stints in Paris, Rome and Beirut. The Los Angeles Times praised his coverage of the Vatican as the best in two decades.

In 1990, Dionne joined The Washington Post as a reporter, covering national politics. His best-selling book, "Why Americans Hate Politics" (Simon & Schuster), was published in 1991. The book, which Newsday called "a classic in American political history," anticipated all the major themes of the 1992 campaign. It won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and was a National Book Award nominee.

Dionne began his op-ed column for the Post in 1993, and it was syndicated, twice weekly, in 1996. He has been a frequent commentator on politics for National Public Radio, CNN and NBC's "Meet the Press." His second book, "They Only Look Dead: Why Progressives Will Dominate The Next Political Era" (Simon & Schuster), was published in February 1996. The New York Times Book Review called it "a luminously intelligent and quietly passionate polemic that deserves to alter the terms of American political debate." The Sunday Independent of London in December 1996 listed Dionne as one of the 40 most influential thinkers of our time.

In 1996, in selecting Dionne as recipient of its annual Carey McWilliams Award to honor a major journalistic contribution to the understanding of politics, the American Political Science Association said: "We honor Mr. Dionne as one of Washington's finest journalistic thinkers and for his insightful daily contributions to the political discourse of our nation. ... His tireless efforts uplift the public ... in a time that cries for reasoned debate, not more negative ads, rumor or simplistic sound bites." In 1997, he was named among the 25 most influential Washington journalists by the National Journal and among the capital city's top 50 journalists by Washingtonian magazine.

Dionne grew up in Fall River, Mass. He graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. from Harvard University in 1973 and received his doctorate from Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. In 1994-95, he was a guest scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center.

He lives in Washington with his wife Mary Boyle, and their three children, James, Julia and Margo.