Dick Morris
Former advisor to President Clinton, political consultant, author and Fox News commentator
WHEN: Tuesday, October 25, 2005, Noon to 1:30 PM
WHERE: Khmer Pavilion, Wyndham Anatole Hotel, Dallas, Texas
Probably the most prominent American political consultant, Dick Morris is almost universally credited with piloting Bill Clinton to a stunning comeback re-election victory in 1996 after the president lost Congress to the Republican 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 did oversee his comeback victory in 1982 as well as his Arkansas re-election victories in 1984, 1986, and 1990.
In addition to Clinton, Morris has handled the winning campaigns for more than 30 Senators or Governors including Republican Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and former Governors 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 the party had ruled the nation for 71 years. He most recently handled the successful presidential campaign for Viktor Yushchenko, the pro democracy reformer in the Ukraine who was poisoned by his opponents. He has also run successful campaigns for the presidencies of Argentina, Uruguay, Russia, and Taiwan. He recently piloted the United Kingdom Independence Party, which opposes the Euro, to a huge success in the European Parliamentary elections.
In the United States, Morris has become a familiar figure as a commentator for the Fox News Channel. 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 and the Hill Magazine.
Morris has written eight books, four of which have been on the New York Times best sellers list. These four include: Rewriting History, a rebuttal of Hillary Clinton's book, Living History co-authored by his wife Eileen McGann, Because He Could, also written with Eileen about Bill Clinton, Off With Their Heads, a plea to stay the course in the war on terror, and Behind the Oval Office, his account of his years with Clinton. He has also written Power Plays, The New Prince, Vote.com, and Bum Rap on American Cities.
In November of 1999, Dick and Eileen founded a web site in the U.S. also called Vote.com where people may log on to vote on the major issues of the day. Their opinions are then emailed to their Senator and Congressman and to other significant decision makers. More than three million people have voted on the site. The couple also founded Legalvote.com which does online focus groups for lawyers and insurance companies.
He and Eileen have been married for 27 years and live in Connecticut and Florida. Dick was born in New York on November 28, 1947.