Patrick Joseph "Pat" Buchanan (2 November 1938-) was the White House Director of Communications under President Ronald Reagan from 6 February 1985 to 1 March 1987, succeeding Michael McManus and preceding Jack Koehler. Buchanan sought the Republican Party presidential nomination in 1992 and 1996 and ran on the Reform Party USA ticket in 2000, with all of his bids being unsuccessful.
Biography[]
Patrick Joseph Buchanan was born in Washington DC on 2 November 1938, the brother of Treasurer Bay Buchanan. He was a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans organization, as some of his ancestors from Mississippi fought in the American Civil War. He graduated from Georgetown University in 1960, and he worked for the St. Louis Globe-Democrat. In 1964, he supported Republican Party presidential nominee Barry Goldwater's campaign, and he was later hired as an assistant by Richard Nixon's presidential campaign. He coined the phrase "Silent Majority" and helped to shape the strategy that drew millions of Democratic Party voters to support Nixon. Buchanan became a news commentator after the end of the Nixon administration, appearing on CNN's Crossfire from 1982 to 1989. From 1985 to 1987, he served as President Ronald Reagan's White House Director of Communications, and he ran for the Republican nomination for President in 1992 and 1996; in 2000, he ran as the Reform Party USA candidate. In 2002, he co-founded The American Conservative magazine, and he became well-known as a paleoconservative and Old Right Republican.