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Bill Schneider is a well-known media personality based at CNN; he has been described as "one of the country's leading political commentators" (by his employer, CNN), "the nation's election-meister" (Washington Times), and "the Aristotle of American politics" (Boston Globe). Schneider has been affiliated with several hardline policy institutes, including the neoconservative-led American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and the Stanford-based Hoover Institution (quotes cited in "Anchors and Reporters: Bill Schneider," CNN).

In a 1997 report on the efficacy of rightist media campaigns, the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy cited Schneider as a case in point: "As journalist Lawrence Soley observed in 1990, think tanks have created their own 'research' journals to help mask 'the academic anemia' of their own researchers. Noting that these 'journals bear names that closely resemble those of legitimate journals,' Soley states that they have produced what appears to be impressive credentials for their policy staff. At the time that Soley wrote, AEI's [Bill] Schneider, for example, had published 16 articles in the Institute's Public Opinion, but not a single article in Public Opinion Quarterly, a respected journal of social science published since 1937. Yet, Soley states, Schneider became one of the most 'sought-after' political pundits, appearing 72 times on network news programs between 1987 and 1989. He also served as a regular political commentator for National Public Radio's 'Morning Edition' during the same time period."

At CNN, Schneider serves as a regular commentator on U.S. politics for CNN's program Situation Room, typically providing glib analysis of election issues and inside-the-Beltway politicking. At AEI, which provides a biography of Schneider though no longer lists him on its Scholars and Fellows page, Schneider provided frequent background articles on the prospects of political candidates. For example, in a September 17, 2004 article (one of the last articles by Schneider posted on AEI's website), Schneider discussed the potential impact of the Iraq War on the then-upcoming November presidential elections. He wrote: "Voters whose top concern is Iraq favor John Kerry (56 to 40%). Those whose top concern is terrorism overwhelmingly favor President Bush (87 to 13%). Bush's issue, terrorism, has pushed Kerry's issue, the war in Iraq, aside. The handover of authority in Iraq at the end of June apparently had exactly the effect that the White House intended: It made Iraq seem like less of an American problem. Republicans used their convention to argue that Iraq is part of the war on terror. Nobody talked about weapons of mass destruction. But several speakers linked Iraq to 9/11. 'Do I forget the lessons of September 11 and take the word of a madman,' Bush asked, 'or do I take action to defend our country?' Denouncing Kerry's criticism of the pre-emptive war in Iraq, Vice President [Dick] Cheney said, 'He declared at the Democratic convention that he will forcefully defend America after we have been attacked. My fellow Americans, we have already been attacked.' But not by Iraq, critics respond."

Similarly, in an article published by the National Journal and AEI in October 2003, Schneider opined that Arnold Schwarzenegger "carried 56% of the voters who said personal qualities were more important than issues in deciding their vote. What personal qualities? Focus, determination, discipline—the same qualities that create a successful bodybuilder or enable a poor immigrant to make it big in America. Those are leadership qualities that voters found missing in [Gov. Gray] Davis. Schwarzenegger's election is a signal: Times are tough; voters want change; outsiders are in. That may be why two Washington outsiders in the Democratic presidential race are attracting the most interest. A former governor of Vermont and a retired general with no electoral experience. Davis and Bush are in different parties, but what Davis was selling is what Bush will be selling next year—continuity. Schwarzenegger's message of change could be just as much a threat to Bush as it was to Davis."

Schneider coauthored the 1987 book The Confidence Gap: Business, Labor, and Government in the Public Mind with Seymour Martin Lipset, a well-known social scientist who in the 1970s was considered one of the first neoconservatives because of his ties to the hardline wing of the Democratic Party (see "Obituary: Seymour Martin Lipset, Theorist on American Uniqueness," International Herald Tribune, January 4, 2007). According to blurbs on the book provided on the AEI website, " Lipset and Schneider document the American people's dramatic loss of faith in their institutions and leaders during the 1960s and 1970s but noted that public opinion continued to support the American system. The book's new material takes account of the apparent increase in optimism during the Reagan years. This new buoyancy applies mainly to government, the authors show, while confidence in the private sector remains low. "

When he's not busy with punditry, Schneider takes on speaking engagements sometimes seemingly outside the realm of his regular field, such as a 2002 keynote address to the California Lodging Industry Association, a 2002 talk at the Federation of American Hospitals conference, and a 2004 address to the County Executives Association.

Please note: IPS Right Web neither represents nor endorses any of the individuals or groups profiled on this site.