William John Bennett (born July 31, 1943) is an American
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...
and
political commentator
A pundit is a person who offers mass media opinion or commentary on a particular subject area (most typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport).
Origins
The term originates from the Sanskrit term ('' '' ), meaning "knowledg ...
who served as
secretary of education
An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
from 1985 to 1988 under President
Ronald Reagan. He also held the post of
director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy under
George H. W. Bush.
Early life and education
Bennett was born July 31, 1943 to a Catholic family in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, the son of Nancy (''
née'' Walsh), a medical secretary, and F. Robert Bennett, a banker. His family moved to
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, where he attended
Gonzaga College High School
Gonzaga College High School is a private Catholic college-preparatory high school for boys in Washington, D.C. Founded by the Jesuits in 1821 as the Washington Seminary, Gonzaga is named in honor of Aloysius Gonzaga, an Italian saint from the 1 ...
. He graduated from
Williams College
Williams College is a private liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a colonist from the Province of Massachusetts Bay who was kill ...
in 1965, where he was a member of the
Kappa Alpha Society
The Kappa Alpha Society (), founded in 1825, was the progenitor of the modern fraternity system in North America. It is considered to be the oldest national, secret, Greek-letter social fraternity and was the first of the fraternities which would ...
, and received a
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
from the
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,07 ...
in political philosophy in 1970. He also has a
J.D. from
Harvard Law School, graduating in 1971.
Career
Educational institutions
Bennett was an associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts at
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...
from 1971 to 1972, and then became an assistant professor of philosophy and an assistant to
John Silber, the president of the college, from 1972 to 1976. In May 1979, Bennett became the director of the
National Humanities Center The National Humanities Center (NHC) is an independent institute for advanced study in the humanities. The NHC operates as a privately incorporated nonprofit and is not part of any university or federal agency. The center was planned under the auspi ...
, a private research facility in
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...
, after the death of its founder
Charles Frankel
Charles Frankel (December 13, 1917 – May 10, 1979) was an American philosopher, Assistant U.S. Secretary of State, professor and founding director of the National Humanities Center.
Early life and personal life
Born into a Jewish family in New ...
.
Federal offices
In 1981 President Reagan appointed Bennett to
chair the
National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...
(NEH), where he served until Reagan appointed him secretary of education in 1985. Reagan originally nominated
Mel Bradford
Melvin E. Bradford (May 8, 1934 – March 3, 1993) was an American conservative political commentator and professor of literature at the University of Dallas.
Bradford is seen as a leading figure of the paleoconservative wing of the conservativ ...
to the position, but due to Bradford's pro-Confederate views Bennett was appointed in his place. This event was later marked as the watershed in the divergence between
paleoconservative
Paleoconservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism in the United States stressing American nationalism, Christian ethics, regionalism, and traditionalist conservatism. Paleoconservatism's concerns overlap with those of the ...
s, who backed Bradford, and
neoconservative
Neoconservatism is a political movement that began in the United States during the 1960s among liberal hawks who became disenchanted with the increasingly pacifist foreign policy of the Democratic Party and with the growing New Left and count ...
s, led by
Irving Kristol, who supported Bennett.
While at NEH, Bennett published ''"To Reclaim a Legacy: A Report on the Humanities in Higher Education"'', a 63-page report. It was based on an assessment of the teaching and learning of the humanities at the baccalaureate level, conducted by a blue-ribbon study group of 31 nationally prominent authorities on higher education convened by NEH.
In May 1986, Bennett switched from the
Democratic to the
Republican Party.
In September 1988, Bennett resigned as secretary of education, to join the Washington law firm of Dunnels, Duvall, Bennett, and Porter. In March 1989 he returned to the federal government, becoming the first Director of the
Office of National Drug Control Policy, appointed by President
George H. W. Bush. He was confirmed by the
Senate in a 97–2 vote. He left that position in December 1990.
Radio and television
In April 2004, Bennett began hosting ''
Morning in America'', a nationally syndicated radio program produced and distributed by
Dallas, Texas
Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...
-based
Salem Communications
Salem Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SALM; formerly Salem Communications Corporation) is an American radio broadcaster, Internet content provider, and magazine and book publisher formerly based in Camarillo, California (moved most operations to Irv ...
. The show aired live weekdays from 6:00 to 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time, and was one of the only syndicated conservative talk shows in the morning
drive time
Drive time is the daypart in which radio broadcasters can reach the most people who listen to car radios while driving, usually to and from work, or on public transportation. Drive-time periods are when the number of radio listeners in this cl ...
slot. However, its clearances were limited due to a preference for local shows in this slot, and the show got most of its clearances on Salem-owned outlets. ''Morning in America'' was also carried on Sirius Satellite Radio, on Channel 144, also known as the Patriot Channel. Bennett retired from full-time radio on March 31, 2016.
In 2008, Bennett became the host of a
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
weekly talk show, ''Beyond the Politics''. The show did not have a long run, but Bennett remained a CNN contributor until he was fired in 2013 by then-new CNN president,
Jeff Zucker.
Bennett has been moderating ''The Wise Guys'', a Sunday night show on
Fox News
The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
, since January 2018. Carried on
Fox Nation as well, participants include
Tyrus,
Byron York
Byron York (born December 5, 1955) is an American conservative correspondent, pundit, columnist, and author.
Education
York holds a B.A. from the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa and an M.A. from the University of Chicago.
Career
...
,
Ari Fleischer,
Victor Davis Hanson
Victor Davis Hanson (born September 5, 1953) is an American commentator, classicist, and military historian. He has been a commentator on modern and ancient warfare and contemporary politics for ''The New York Times'', ''Wall Street Journal'', ...
, and others.
Author, speaker, and pundit
Bennett writes for
National Review Online, ''
National Review
''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief ...
'' and ''
Commentary
Commentary or commentaries may refer to:
Publications
* ''Commentary'' (magazine), a U.S. public affairs journal, founded in 1945 and formerly published by the American Jewish Committee
* Caesar's Commentaries (disambiguation), a number of works ...
'', and is a former senior editor of ''National Review.''
Bennett is a member of the National Security Advisory Council of the
Center for Security Policy (CSP). He was co-director of
Empower America and was a Distinguished Fellow in Cultural Policy Studies at
The Heritage Foundation. Long active in
United States Republican Party
The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP ("Grand Old Party"), is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States. The GOP was founded in 1854 by anti-slavery activists who opposed the Kansas–Nebraska Act ...
politics, he is now an author and speaker.
Bennett was the Washington Fellow of the
Claremont Institute
The Claremont Institute is a conservative think tank based in Upland, California. The institute was founded in 1979 by four students of Harry V. Jaffa. It produces the ''Claremont Review of Books,'' ''The American Mind'', and other publications.
...
. He was also a commentator for
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
until 2013.
He is an advisor to
Project Lead The Way and Beanstalk Innovation. He is on the advisory board of
Udacity, Inc., Viridis Learning, Inc. and the board of directors of Vocefy, Inc. and Webtab, Inc.
In 2017, Bennett launched a podcast, ''The Bill Bennett Show''.
According to internal White House records from January 6, 2021, Bennett spoke on the phone with then-President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
just before Trump went to the
"Save America" rally that preceded the attack on the Capitol.
Political views
Bennett tends to take a conservative position on
affirmative action,
school vouchers
A school voucher, also called an education voucher in a voucher system, is a certificate of government funding for students at schools chosen by themselves or their parents. Funding is usually for a particular year, term, or semester. In some cou ...
, curriculum reform, and religion in education. As education secretary, he asked colleges to better enforce drug laws and supported a classical education. He frequently criticized schools for low standards. In 1987 he called the
Chicago Public Schools
Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the third-largest school district in the United States, after New York and Los Angeles.
...
system "the worst in the nation." He coined the term "the blob" to describe the state education bureaucracy, a term which was later taken up in Britain by
Michael Gove.
Bennett is a staunch supporter of the
War on Drugs
The war on drugs is a global campaign, led by the United States federal government, of drug prohibition, military aid, and military intervention, with the aim of reducing the illegal drug trade in the United States.Cockburn and St. Clair, 1 ...
and has been criticized by some for his views on the issue. On ''
Larry King Live
''Larry King Live'' was an American television talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was the channel's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly.
Mainly aired from CNN's Los Angeles ...
'', he said that a viewer's suggestion of
beheading drug dealers would be "morally plausible." He also "lamented that we still grant them
rug dealershabeas corpus
''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, t ...
rights."
Bennett is a member of the
Project for the New American Century
The Project for the New American Century (PNAC) was a neoconservative[Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...](_blank)
, which urged Clinton to remove
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
i leader
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...
from power.
Bennett is a neoconservative.
Bennett was an advocate for the
Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
.
Controversies
Gambling
In 2003, it became publicly known that Bennett - who had spent years preaching about family values and personal responsibility - was a high-stakes
gambler
Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three eleme ...
who lost millions of dollars in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
. Criticism increased in the wake of Bennett's publication, ''
The Book of Virtues'', a compilation of moral stories about courage, responsibility, friendship and other examples of
virtue
Virtue ( la, virtus) is moral excellence. A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. In other words, it is a behavior that shows high moral standard ...
. Joshua Green of the ''
Washington Monthly
''Washington Monthly'' is a bimonthly, nonprofit magazine of United States politics and government that is based in Washington, D.C. The magazine is known for its annual ranking of American colleges and universities, which serves as an alternat ...
'' said that Bennett failed to denounce gambling because of his own tendency to gamble. Also, Bennett and
Empower America, the organization he co-founded and headed at the time, opposed an extension of casino gambling in the United States.
Bennett said that his habit had not put himself or his family in any financial jeopardy. After Bennett's gambling problem became public, he said he did not believe his habit set a good example, that he had "done too much gambling" over the years, and his "gambling days are over". "We are financially solvent," his wife Elayne told ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
''. "All our bills are paid." She added that his gambling days are over. "He's never going again," she said.
Several months later, Bennett qualified his position, saying "So, in this case, the excessive gambling is over." He explained "Since there will be people doing the micrometer on me, I just want to be clear: I do want to be able to bet the
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...
in the
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
."
Radio show abortion comment
On September 28, 2005, in a discussion on Bennett's ''Morning in America'' radio show, a caller to the show proposed that "lost revenue from the people who have been aborted in the last 30 years" could preserve
Social Security
Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...
if abortion had not been permitted since ''
Roe v. Wade
''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and s ...
''. Bennett responded that aborting by all African-American babies, "If you wanted to reduce crime, you could—if that were the sole purpose—you could abort every black baby in this country and the crime rate would go down. That would be an impossible, ridiculous, and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your crime rate would go down."
Bennett responded to the criticism saying, in part:
:A thought experiment about public policy, on national radio, should not have received the condemnations it has. Anyone paying attention to this debate should be offended by those who have selectively quoted me, distorted my meaning, and taken out of context the dialogue I engaged in this week. Such distortions from 'leaders' of organizations and parties is a disgrace not only to the organizations and institutions they serve, but to the
First Amendment
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
.
Books
Bennett's best-known written work may be ''
The Book of Virtues: A Treasury of Great Moral Stories'' (1993), which he edited; he has also authored and edited eleven other books, including ''The Children's Book of Virtues'' (which inspired an
animated television series
An animated series is a set of Animation, animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can ...
) and ''The Death of Outrage:
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
and the Assault on American Ideals'' (1998).
Other books:
*''First Lessons. A Report on Elementary Education in America'' (co-authored in September 1986, as Secretary of Department of Education)
*''James Madison High School: A Curriculum For American Students'' (December 1987, as Secretary of the Department of Education)
*''James Madison Elementary School: A Curriculum For American Students'' (August 1988, as Secretary of the
Department of Education
An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
)
*''The De-Valuing of America: The Fight for Our Culture and Our Children'' (1992)
*''Moral Compass: Stories for a Life's Journey'' (1995)
*''Body Count: Moral Poverty ... and How to Win America's War Against Crime and Drugs'' (1996)
*''Our Sacred Honor'' (1997, compilation of writings by the Founding Fathers)
*''The Index of Leading Cultural Indicators'' (1999)
*''The Educated Child: A Parent's Guide from Preschool through Eighth Grade'' (1999)
*''The Broken Hearth: Reversing the Moral Collapse of the American Family'' (2001)
*''Why We Fight: Moral Clarity and the War on Terrorism'' (2003)
*''America: The Last Best Hope (Volume I): From the Age of Discovery to a World at War'' (2006)
*''America: The Last Best Hope (Volume II): From a World at War to the Triumph of Freedom'' (2007)
*''The American Patriot's Almanac: Daily Readings on America'', with John Cribb (2008)
*''The True Saint Nicholas'' (2009)
*''A Century Turns: New Hopes, New Fears'' (2010)
*''The Book of Man: Readings on the Path to Manhood'' (2011)
*''The Fight of our Lives,'' co-authored with
Seth Leibsohn (2011)
*''Is College Worth It?'' with David Wilezol (2013)
*''Going to Pot: Why the Rush to Legalize Marijuana Is Harming America'', with Robert A. White (2015)
*''Tried by Fire: The Story of Christianity's First Thousand Years'' (2016)
Personal life
In 1967, as a graduate student, Bennett went on a single
blind date
A blind date is a social engagement between two people who have not met, usually arranged by a mutual acquaintance.
Structure
A blind date is arranged for by a mutual acquaintance of both participants. The two people who take part in the blind ...
with
Janis Joplin
Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and musician. One of the most successful and widely known Rock music, rock stars of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and "electric" stage ...
. He later lamented, “That date lasted two hours, and I’ve spent 200 hours talking about it."
Bennett married his wife, Mary Elayne Glover, in 1982. They have two sons, John and Joseph. Elayne is the president and founder of ''Best Friends Foundation'', a national program promoting sexual abstinence among adolescents.
Bennett is the younger brother of Washington attorney
Robert S. Bennett.
See also
*
Legalized abortion and crime effect
The effect of legalized abortion on crime (also the Donohue–Levitt hypothesis) is a controversial hypothesis about the reduction in crime in the decades following the legalization of abortion. Proponents argue that the availability of abortion r ...
*
List of U.S. political appointments that crossed party lines
*
Race and crime in the United States
In the United States, Race and crime, the relationship between Race and ethnicity in the United States, race and crime in the United States, crime has been a topic of public controversy and scholarly debate for more than a century. Crime rates v ...
*
Roe effect
The Roe effect is a hypothesis about the long-term effect of abortion on the political balance of the United States, which suggests that since supporters of the legalization of abortion cause the erosion of their own political base, the practice ...
References
External links
Morning in AmericaBest Friends Foundation*
Interview with Bennett ''
In Depth
''In Depth'' is a program that airs monthly on C-SPAN 2 as part of their Book TV programming, and features a different writer each month. Each interview covers the breadth of that author's writing career, and incorporates viewer calls and e-mails ...
'', July 4, 2010
*
, -
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, William
1943 births
Living people
20th-century American non-fiction writers
20th-century American politicians
20th-century American male writers
21st-century American non-fiction writers
21st-century American male writers
American political commentators
American political philosophers
American political writers
American talk radio hosts
Chairpersons of the National Endowment for the Humanities
CNN people
Directors of the Office of National Drug Control Policy
George H. W. Bush administration personnel
Gonzaga College High School alumni
Harvard Law School alumni
The Heritage Foundation
National Review people
New York (state) Democrats
New York (state) Republicans
Politicians from Brooklyn
Reagan administration cabinet members
United States Secretaries of Education
University of Texas at Austin alumni
Washington, D.C., Democrats
Washington, D.C., Republicans
Williams College alumni
Writers from Brooklyn
American male non-fiction writers