Paul Begala is a political commentator providing insight "from the left" on CNN's programs including Inside Politics. On Inside Politics, Begala and liberal commentator James Carville debate the hottest issues of the day with conservative commentator Robert Novak.


Begala was formerly co-host of Crossfire, CNN’s political debate program. He first entered the national political scene after his consulting firm, Carville & Begala, helped elect President Bill Clinton in 1992. Serving in the Clinton administration as counselor to the president, he helped define and defend the administration's agenda and served as the principal public spokesman.


Carville & Begala's other well-known electoral successes include the 1991 Senate victory of Harris Wofford in Pennsylvania, the 1990 gubernatorial victories of Georgia's Zell Miller and Pennsylvania's Robert P. Casey and the 1998 re-election of Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey.


Previously, Begala co-hosted with Oliver North MSNBC's political talk show, Equal Time. Author of the best-selling book Is Our Children Learning?: The Case Against George W. Bush, he also recently co-authored the current best-seller Buck Up, Suck Up and Come Back When You Foul Up with Carville. Begala helped John F. Kennedy, Jr. launch George magazine, where he served as a contributing editor and wrote the Capital Hillbilly column. He has also written numerous articles and op-eds for numerous publications.


A native of Texas, Begala earned his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Texas, where he taught before his work at the White House. After leaving the Clinton administration, Begala joined Georgetown University's staff as a research professor of government and public policy.

Blog Entries by Paul Begala

A Warrior on a Mission in Rush Limbaugh's Home District

59 Comments | Posted November 10, 2009 | 10:36 PM (EST)


Democrats who may be worried about the 2010 congressional races have a long shot hero this Veterans' Day in a most unlikely place: Rush Limbaugh's home congressional district, the 8th District of Missouri.

The southeast corner of Missouri reared Rush, but it may be about to redeem itself. This...

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A Sign of the Times

636 Comments | Posted September 13, 2009 | 01:42 AM (EST)


The sign said it all. It was not some last-minute message some meth addict scrawled in crayon on a scrap of cardboard. No, this sign was professionally printed. White block letters on a blue background, the four-word message was in all caps. Someone had to have thought this through. Someone...

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Why I Loved Obama's Health Care Speech

700 Comments | Posted September 9, 2009 | 11:41 PM (EST)


I loved Pres. Obama's speech. It rallied dispirited Democrats, reassured disenchanted independents and intimidated Republicans. He called a lie a lie, and pledged to call out the right-wing thugs if (well, when) they continue lying.

The President shone a spotlight on the sin of rescission --...

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Sarah Palin Turns Pro

1744 Comments | Posted July 3, 2009 | 10:35 PM (EST)


I wish Hunter S. Thompson had lived to see this.

As Hunter said, "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." Sarah Palin makes Mark Foley, the congressman who sent filthy emails to pages look almost normal. She makes David Vitter, the senator who was hanging out with...

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Mr. Cheney, You Did Not Keep Us Safe

1347 Comments | Posted May 13, 2009 | 12:36 PM (EST)


If 3,000 Americans had been killed on your watch, in an attack that could have been prevented, perhaps you'd be a little hesitant to accuse anyone else of endangering America. And if you had advocated torture, and the torture produced false information that you used to mislead America into...

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Yes, National Review, We Did Execute Japanese for Waterboarding

Posted April 24, 2009 | 03:53 PM (EST)


In a CNN debate with Ari Fleischer, I said the United States executed Japanese war criminals for waterboarding. My point was that it is disingenuous for Bush Republicans to argue that waterboarding is not torture and thus illegal. It's kind of awkward to argue that waterboarding is not a...

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Al Franken Wins Minnesota Senate Race...Again

Posted April 15, 2009 | 10:21 AM (EST)


If character were oil, Norm Coleman would be a quart low.

He has lost the Minnesota Senate race -- well, he lost it five months ago. He also lost the recount. And the lawsuit. You see a trend here? Norm, buddy, you lost. As the old country...

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A Tribute to Ron Silver

Posted March 15, 2009 | 10:47 PM (EST)


With the passing of activist and actor Ron Silver, the intersection of art and politics has lost one of the truly good guys. I did not know Ron well, but we'd run into each other at various political events. As he moved from left to right he maintained a sense...

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Bring Back the Stocks

Posted January 22, 2009 | 07:45 PM (EST)


As President Obama ushers in a new era of good feeling, allow me this potentially discordant note. As we finally and belatedly stop torturing people, can we please start humiliating sleazeballs?

Bring back stocks. Not the equities that are tanking on Wall Street; the ancient English punishment wherein a...

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Thankful for a President-elect Willing to Challenge the Ossified Status Quo... of College Football

Posted November 27, 2008 | 08:20 PM (EST)


This Thanksgiving I am grateful we have a president-elect with the clarity to see evil and the courage to confront it. In his final interview as a presidential candidate, and again in his first interview as president-elect, Barack Obama stood strong against the focus of evil in the modern world:...

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The McCain-Palin Lies and the Neil Armstrong Principle

Posted September 9, 2008 | 10:04 PM (EST)


If John McCain and Sarah Palin were to say the moon was made of green cheese, we can be certain that Barack Obama and Joe Biden would pounce on it, and point out it's actually made of rock. And you just know the headline in the paper the next...

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Please, Democrats, Attack

Posted August 26, 2008 | 10:22 AM (EST)


Michelle Obama was spectacular Monday night. Poised, charming, beautiful, and most of all, authentic.

Ted Kennedy was heroic. Rising out of a wheelchair to stride out on stage, he showed us all the meaning of courage.

But unless you're married to the nominee or fighting off brain cancer, each speaker...

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Oppose Bush's Vulgar Lies and Pornographic War: Send Money to Al Franken

Posted June 19, 2008 | 06:54 PM (EST)


It is a minor journalistic cliché to call former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson "a gifted wordsmith." That he is. Gerson is the devout Christian (just ask him) whose presidential speeches contained subliminal messages to evangelicals ("wonder-working power", "an angel rides the whirlwind," etc.).

Gerson used these dog-whistle techniques to...

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Hillary and Jackie

Posted June 3, 2008 | 10:56 AM (EST)


Ask my ten-year-old Little Leaguer, Charlie, who his all-time favorite baseball player is and you won't hear Jeter or Berkman or Big Papi. Nor even Mickey Mantle, whose autographed picture hangs in Charlie's room -- a gift from The Mick to Charlie's dad.

Without hesitation Charlie will say, "Jackie." As...

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Bush Uses Holy Land Pulpit to Launch Smear Campaign

Posted May 15, 2008 | 01:21 PM (EST)


George W. Bush is unworthy of the presidency. He is a disgrace to himself, our Nation, and the high office he holds.

In a speech to the Israeli Knesset on Thursday, Mr. Bush forfeited the last scraps of his moral authority, dishonoring himself by using one of...

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Fox News: We Report -- Even if We Know It's False

Posted January 9, 2008 | 12:35 PM (EST)


I've been dealing with the media and politics for 25 years, but I've never had a more surrealistic day than January 8. Several times that day Fox News reported that I was joining Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign. It was a big story - at least until the stunning election returns....

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Democrats Should Attack Bush, Not MoveOn

Posted September 20, 2007 | 01:18 PM (EST)


Before a single Democrat condemns MoveOn's ad, they should insist that George W. Bush and the Republican Party repudiate the anti-military smears on war heroes that have been the hallmark of Mr. Bush's political career.

Too many Democrats still think Mr. Bush's presidency is on the level. Let's be...

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George W. Bush is One Tough Hombre

Posted July 2, 2007 | 08:30 PM (EST)


Tough enough to execute Karla Fay Tucker -- and then laugh about it. Tough enough to sign a death warrant for a man whose lawyer slept through the trial -- and then snicker when asked about it in a debate. Even tough enough to execute a great-grandmother who murdered her...

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Mitt Steps in Shit; Media Says it Smells Like Roses

Posted June 6, 2007 | 04:02 PM (EST)


In a 2000 debate, Al Gore said that during wildfires in Texas he'd met with the director of FEMA. In fact, Vice President Gore had met with the deputy director of FEMA. Although I had been at the meeting as well, I didn't remember it either. But the press, spoon-fed...

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David Broder Is a Gasbag

Posted April 26, 2007 | 12:23 PM (EST)


One of the few regrets I have in life is that I allowed Ann Devroy of the Washington Post to talk me into apologizing for calling David Broder "a gasbag" in 1995. My admiration for Devroy trumped my contempt for Broder. Ann, sadly, is gone, but Broder remains. She was...

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