Richard Wolffe

An insightful political analyst and former reporter of world-class wit and acumen, speaker Richard Wolffe dissects world affairs and the historic presidency of Barack Obama.

From what’s happening in Washington and on Wall Street to what’s going on in Westminster and the West Bank, Richard Wolffe has covered it all. The former senior White House correspondent and diplomatic reporter for Newsweek and business reporter for the Financial Times, Wolffe lends his thoughtful analysis to the political, economic and social headlines of our times including a look at Congress and the Obama Administration. With an ironic, dry sense of humor, Wolffe cuts to the core of domestic and international politics and gives the historical perspectives and political psychology behind today’s news. The bestselling author of Renegade: The Making of a President, speaker Richard Wolffe spent almost two years traveling with the Obama campaign; an unmatched experience that lends itself to a powerful analysis of the news generated by the 44th President of the United States. Wolffe is uniquely placed to interpret President Obama’s character and politics: he interviewed the candidate more than a dozen times for his book, obtained the first print interview with the new president in the Oval Office, and even played basketball with him several times. His latest book, REVIVAL: The Struggle for Survival Inside the White House (November 2010), is a portrait of a White House at work under exceptional strain across a sweeping set of challenges. Currently a political analyst for MSNBC, Wolffe appears regularly on Hardball with Chris Matthews, The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell as well as NBC’s Today and Meet the Press.

Change in Washington

After three Change elections in a row, can Washington and the White House change themselves or the wider world before the 2012 election? Obama came into power promising big changes at home and overseas, but was it too much for the nation and for business? Will we see more or less change in a divided Washington as the next campaign gears up? How will Washington’s battles affect the economy, the markets, two wars and diplomacy? Richard Wolffe, a political analyst with global experience covering the biggest stories of the last decade, offers a road map to understanding the dynamics, characters and disputes that shape the White House, Congress and the world beyond the Beltway. From what’s happening in Washington and on Wall Street to what’s going on in Westminster and the West Bank, Richard Wolffe can make sense of it all.

From Renegade to Revival: the Making and Unmaking of President Obama

In 2004, he was a little-known state senator from Illinois. Just four years later, he was elected the leader of the free world. The meteoric rise of Barack Obama is something that scholars will be evaluating for years to come, but what is it about Barack Obama that captured the attention of so many Americans? And how did he squander the extraordinary popularity that followed? Based on his two Obama books, Richard Wolffe gives audiences an unvarnished and up-close look at the making and unmaking of a president. Thanks to his unrivaled sources, Wolffe examines Obama’s repeated near death experiences and the resurrections that followed. Wolffe helps us all understand how Obama got to where he is and where he is taking the country ahead of his 2012 run for re-election.