Linton Weeks

Credit Doby Photography / NPR

Linton Weeks joined NPR in the summer of 2008, as its national correspondent for Digital News. He immediately hit the campaign trail, covering the Democratic and Republican National Conventions; fact-checking the debates; and exploring the candidates, the issues and the electorate.

Weeks is originally from Tennessee, and graduated from Rhodes College in 1976. He was the founding editor of Southern Magazine in 1986. The magazine was bought — and crushed — in 1989 by Time-Warner. In 1990, he was named managing editor of The Washington Post's Sunday magazine. Four years later, he became the first director of the newspaper's website, Washingtonpost.com. From 1995 until 2008, he was a staff writer in the Style section of The Washington Post.

He currently lives in a suburb of Washington with the artist Jan Taylor Weeks. In 2009, they created The Stone and Holt Weeks Foundation to honor their beloved sons.

International Skinny On The U.S. Election

Credit Markus Schreiber / AP

President Obama climbs the podium to give a media briefing at the end of a NATO summit in Lisbon, Portugal, on Nov. 20, 2010.

By Linton Weeks

Originally published on Wed June 13, 2012 1:54 pm

If it's true that America now resides smack dab in the middle of an interdependent global village, then we should probably pay attention to what other countries think about us — our values, our leadership and the presidential election of 2012.

11:01 am

Mon June 11, 2012

Why It's Good To Be The Incumbent

Credit Rick T. Wilking / AP

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry debates President George W. Bush on Oct. 13, 2004. Bush later won re-election.

By Linton Weeks

Originally published on Mon June 11, 2012 1:33 pm

Two political tried-and-truisms: Sitting presidents are hard to unseat, and history repeats itself.

To the first point: In the past 10 presidential elections with incumbent candidates, the incumbents have won seven times. The only incumbent losers were Gerald Ford in 1976, Jimmy Carter in 1980 and George H.W. Bush in 1992.

12:49 pm

Tue June 5, 2012

The Uniqueness Of The 2012 Election

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Credit Frederic Nebinger / Getty Images

Protesters in Nice, France, hold banners depicting then-French President Nicolas Sarkozy and President Obama before a November 2011 G-20 summit where global financial issues were discussed. Sarkozy has since lost re-election; some political scientists say economic problems in Europe also could play an unprecedented role in the upcoming U.S. election.

Credit Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

Volunteers unfurl a banner with the Preamble to the Constitution during a demonstration against the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling on campaign finance rules at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., Oct. 20, 2010.

Credit Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP

President Obama holds an online meeting from Facebook headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif., April 20, 2011. One political science professor says Obama's digital campaigning skills could make a difference in November.

By Linton Weeks

Originally published on Tue June 5, 2012 3:11 pm

All U.S. presidential elections "are unique in some fashion," says John G. Geer, a political science professor at Vanderbilt University.

Sure, but what about 2012? What exactly will make the 2012 election between President Obama and Mitt Romney truly unique?

2:46 pm

Wed May 30, 2012

With The American Dream Comes The Nightmare

Credit Bill Clark / CQ Roll Call

Unemployed circus clown Tim Torkildson, aka Dusty the Clown, sits on a bench on the north side of the U.S. Capitol in May.

By Linton Weeks

Originally published on Mon August 6, 2012 11:34 am

One American's dream can be another American's nightmare.

Consider: Some people long to live in big cities; others think cities have ruined the landscape. Some Americans love to drive big old honking SUVs; others see huge cars as pollution-producing monsters. For some people, the American dream is a steady office job. For others, the office is a sinkhole and the real dream is freedom from the office.

12:31 pm

Wed May 23, 2012

Get Ready For The First Robot President

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Credit iStockphoto

While American politicians may be scripted, they're not this robotic. But whoever wins the presidency this year will preside over a U.S. economy where automation is becoming increasingly important.

Credit Eric Risberg / AP

Interest in the domestic use of unmanned drones is surging among public agencies, raising privacy concerns. Here, a Ritewing Zephyr II flies with mounted camera in Berkeley, Calif.

Credit Jim Watson / AFP/Getty Images

Students show President Obama inventions they entered in a robotics competition at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Va., last September.

By Linton Weeks

Originally published on Wed May 23, 2012 2:48 pm

As many folks know, Bill Clinton was called the First Black President by Toni Morrison in The New Yorker.

9:04 am

Wed May 16, 2012

A Fleeting Memory Of Carlos Fuentes

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Credit Claudio Rubio / AP

Mexican write Carlos Fuentes at the Hay Festival Cartagena in January.

Credit Pierre-Philippe Marcou / AFP/Getty Images

Carlos Fuentes, seen in 2008 in Toledo, Spain. His books were a melange of age and youth, politics, philosophy, popular culture and sexuality.

By Linton Weeks

Originally published on Wed May 16, 2012 4:43 pm

When I heard that the Mexican literary legend Carlos Fuentes died Tuesday at 83, I remembered a long, easygoing interview I did with him years ago. We talked about many things — including what epitaph he wanted carved on his tombstone.

It was the autumn of 1995 and I was a reporter at The Washington Post, assigned to write a profile of the elegant, eloquent Fuentes. I draw on that story now, for twice-told tales worth telling.

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