Norman Ornstein is a long-time observer of Congress and politics. He writes a weekly column for
Roll Call and is an election analyst for CBS News. He served as codirector of the AEI-Brookings Election Reform Project and participates in AEI's Election Watch series. He also serves as a senior counselor to the Continuity of Government Commission. Mr. Ornstein led a working group of scholars and practitioners that helped shape the law, known as McCain-Feingold, that reformed the campaign financing system. He was elected as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2004. His many books include
The Permanent Campaign and Its Future (AEI Press, 2000); the coauthored
The Broken Branch: How Congress is Failing America and How to Get It Back on Track (Oxford University Press, 2006); and, most recently,
Vital Statistics on Congress 2008 (Brookings Institution Press, 2008), also coauthored.
Experience
- Codirector, Election Reform Project, 2005-2011
- Senior Counselor, Continuity of Government Commission, 2002-present
- Codirector, Project to Examine Alternatives to the Independent Counsel Statute, 1999-present
- Member, Board of Contributors, USA Today, 1997-present
- Founder and Director, Campaign Finance Reform Working Group, 1996-present
- Columnist, "Congress Inside Out," Roll Call, 1993-present
- Senior Adviser, Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, 1987-present
- Election Analyst, CBS News, 1982-present
- Director, Transition to Governing Project, 2000-2003
- Member, Commission on the Future International Financial Architecture, Council on Foreign Relations, 2000
- Cochair, President's Advisory Committee on the Public Interest Obligations of Digital Television Broadcasters, 1997-98
- Codirector, Renewing Congress Project, 1992-96
- Commentator and Pollster, Political Coverage, Comedy Central, 1992, 1996
- Member, National Commission on Public Service Board, 1987-90
- Faculty, Catholic University of America and Johns Hopkins University, 1971-84
- Series Editor and Cohost, "Congress: We the People," PBS, 1977-78
Education
Ph.D., M.A., political science, University of Michigan
B.A., University of Minnesota
