In our continuing effort to get to know the political analysts, commentators, contributors and media pundits, meet Robert Traynham, former Communications Director for former 2012 Republican Presidential Candidate Rick Santorum and Richard Wolffe, author, journalist, diplomatic correspondent, and MSNBC political analyst.
Robert Traynham is the host and moderator of Roll Call with Robert Traynham, a regular Sunday political talk show that airs on The Comcast Network also serving as the network’s Washington bureau chief. A Capitol Hill veteran with more than 15 years of political experience, Traynham has a reputation as one of the most respected and trusted media members covering Washington.
Traynham began his career in public service as a White House intern. After leaving the White House, he went to work for a member of the Unites States House of Representatives, and soon thereafter joined the staff of a member of the United States Senate. His career highlights in the Senate include holding senior positions within the leadership offices and serving as President of the United States Senate Press Secretaries Association, a bipartisan group of Senate communication professionals.
Traynham serves as an Associate Professorial Lecturer at The George Washington University where he teaches courses in strategy and message development. Previously, he was an Adjunct Professor at George Mason University where he taught courses in political communication.
Traynham holds a Bachelors degree in Political Science from Cheyney University of Pennsylvania. He earned his masters degree in political communication from the George Mason University. Through an appointment by the governor of Pennsylvania, Traynham also serves on the Council of Trustees for Cheyney University, the nation's oldest school within the group of Historical Black Colleges and Universities. In 2003, he was awarded by the Thurgood Marshall Foundation and recognized as a top HBCU alumnus.
Traynham is an avid reader, particularly of presidential biographies and British royal history. In his spare time, he enjoys visiting presidential libraries, mountain biking and cooking. He lives in Washington with his life partner, Brent.
Richard Wolffe is an
award-winning journalist and political analyst for MSNBC television. He appears frequently on
MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews. On NBC, he
has been featured as a political commentator on Meet The Press and TODAY.
Wolffe spent eight years with the Financial Times
including four years in the United Kingdom. His business work there included
financial reporting in the City of London, investment management and financial
advisory firms, and the manufacturing sector in the British heartland. In
politics, he reported on the tumultuous period leading to Tony Blair’s landslide
victory in 1997.
He joined Newsweek magazine in November 2002 as
diplomatic correspondent, covering foreign policy and international affairs. In
the 2004 presidential election, he covered the chaotic Howard Dean campaign
before switching to John Kerry’s campaign.
As Newsweek’s senior White House correspondent, his
cover stories included What He Believes (on Obama’s faith) Black & White
(about Obama and racial politics), Bush In The Bubble (about the president after
Hurricane Katrina) and Weight of the World (the behind-the-scenes story of how
Bush handled the Lebanon war).
He covered the entire length of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign for Newsweek magazine, traveling with the candidate and his inner circle from his announcement through election day, 21 months later.
His book about the Obama campaign, entitled Renegade: The Making of a President, was published by Crown in June 2009 in the United States. It became an instant New York Times bestseller. He is featured prominently in the HBO documentary on the Obama campaign, By the People, and played a leading role in the HBO documentary of the 2000 Bush campaign, Journeys with George.
In April 2009, he joined Public Strategies as Senior Strategist at the communications and business advisory firm. He left the firm in December 2009 to work on his next book.
Wolffe is the co-author of The Victim’s Fortune, (HarperCollins, 2002), which
reveals the behind-the-scenes deals that led to billions of dollars in
compensation to the Nazis’ victims in the late 1990s.
He is co-author of a Spanish cookbook, Tapas: A Taste of Spain in America,
published in 2005 and co-wrote
a follow-up book Made in Spain, published by Clarkson Potter in 2008, and wrote
a 26-part TV show of the same name for PBS television. He has also written for
food magazines such as Food Arts and Food and Wine.
Born in Birmingham, England, Wolffe graduated from
Oxford University with first-class honors in English and French. He lives with
his wife and their three children in Washington, D.C.
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