Mark Shields

Shields died at his Chevy Chase, Md., home, from kidney failure, a “PBS NewsHour” spokesman said.

He also wrote “On the Campaign Trail,” an account of the 1984 presidential campaign. He was a special guy: full of heart and wisdom and love. Mark’s intellect, wit, and heart were unmatched,” she wrote. He had collaborated with David Brooks since 2001 to provide analysis and commentary in their weekly Shields & Brooks segment and during election specials and conventions and before that with David Gergen and Paul Gigot, according to “PBS NewsHour.” His tenure there spanned six presidencies. In 1979, he began writing a column at The Washington Post that was later distributed by Creators Syndicate. “Mark radiates a generosity of spirit that improves all who come within his light.”

Mark Shields, the longtime commentator known for his weekly political analysis and sense of humor, has died at the age of 85, PBS NewsHour confirmed.

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Known for his witty political analysis, he was a syndicated columnist and a genial presence on television.

He taught at the University of Pennsylvania and Georgetown University and was in demand as a speaker and emcee. He was a longtime member of the National Press Club and the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Washington. He came to Washington in 1964 and was on the staff of Sen. William Proxmire (D-Wis.) before becoming a campaign worker. The problem facing the party in the 21st century, he said, “is one of attitude as much as it is of platform. His family was immersed in the Democratic politics of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, and Mr. Shields grew up reading five newspapers a day. He quoted a line from Sen. Claiborne Pell (D-R.I.) as if it were an immutable law: “There are only two ways people leave Washington. By the ballot box or the undertaker’s box.” “He brings a real breath of fresh air to that kind of activity,” Simpson told The Post in 1983. He joined the “PBS NewsHour” in 1987. In 1980, Mr. Shields became the host of weekly political talk show, “Inside Washington,” that was carried on public television stations. In one of his final appearances on “NewsHour” in 2020, Mr. Shields noted that the Democratic Party had traditionally been the political home of lunch-pail, working-class White men. “His survival instinct will be to return to the strategy and tactics which won for him before,” Mr. Shields wrote. Thereafter, Mr. Shields tended to view politics with a touch of sorrow-filled regret.

CHEVY CHASE, Md. — Columnist and political commentator Mark Shields, who shared his wit and insight into American politics on “PBS NewsHour” for decades, ...

He also wrote “On the Campaign Trail,” an account of the 1984 presidential campaign. He was a special guy: full of heart and wisdom and love. For decades, she said, Shields “wowed us with his encyclopedic knowledge of American politics, his sense of humor and mainly his big heart." “Mark radiates a generosity of spirit that improves all who come within his light.” Shields was a regular on the show since it began in 1987 and stepped down from his regular Friday night discussion segment in December 2020. He had collaborated with David Brooks since 2001 to share analysis and commentary in their weekly Shields & Brooks segment and during election specials and conventions.

Mark Shields, who provided witty, informed and insightful analysis of politics on PBS NewsHour for more than three decades, has died. Shields was 85.

Shields started his career in government and politics in the mid-1960s, first as a legislative assistant and speechwriter for Senator William Proxmire and later for Robert Kennedy’s 1968 presidential campaign, as he helped to organize the California primary. Mark radiates a generosity of spirit that improves all who come within his light.” Shields was born on May 25, 1937 and raised in Weymouth, MA. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1959, with a major in philosophy and a minor in history, and then served in the Marines. He moved to Washington, D.C., in 1964. Brooks called Shields “one of the finest and beloved men I’ve ever known.” in a column he wrote when Shields retired, Brooks said that “we’ve had thousands of disagreements over the years, but never a second of acrimony. He also was a guest on other panel shows such as Meet the Press, and was part of the team that launched the CNN series The Capital Gang, which ran from 1988 to 2005. Shields went on to hold senior positions in other presidential campaigns, including those of Edmund Muskie in 1972 and Morris Udall in 1976, and the vice presidential campaign of Sargent Shriver in 1972.

MARK Shields era conocido por ser un analista político astuto y un comentarista regular en PBS NewsHour. El 18 de junio de 2022, fue reportado que había ...

el amado analista de los viernes por la noche de @NewsHour, Mark Shields, quien durante décadas nos cautivó con su conocimiento enciclopédico de la política estadounidense, su sentido del humor y principalmente su gran corazón, falleció en 85, con su esposa Anne a su lado». Desafortunadamente, uno de los colegas de Mark anunció su muerte en Twitter el 18 de junio de 2022. ¿Quién fue Mark Shields?

A former campaign strategist, he became a fixture in American political journalism and punditry and was seen on “PBS NewsHour” for 33 years.

“If I wasn’t an alcoholic, I was probably a pretty good imitation of one,” he told C-SPAN, adding: “I have not had a drink since May 15, 1974. In addition to his daughter, a television producer, he is survived by his wife and two grandchildren. As he set out on his career in politics, he met Anne Hudson, a lawyer and federal agency administrator. With military conscription looming, he chose in 1960 to enlist in the Marines, emerging in 1962 as a lance corporal. In 1985, he wrote “On the Campaign Trail,” a somewhat irreverent look at the 1984 presidential race. His longest stretch was as a commentator on “PBS NewsHour” from 1987 through 2020, when he decided at age 83 to end his regular gig. “The political candidate dares to risk the public rejection that most of us will go to any length to avoid.” He was also a panelist on another weekly public affairs program, “Inside Washington,” seen on PBS and ABC until it ended in 2013. Ford, he said, was “the most emotionally healthy.” “Like ‘my nephew is graduating from driving school,’ and ‘I’d love to be with you but we had a family appointment at the taxidermist.’” As the 1970s ended, he decided on a different path. He then struck out on his own as a political consultant to Democratic candidates; his first campaign at the national level was Robert F. Kennedy’s ill-fated presidential race in 1968.

For decades, he appeared as a commentator in “PBS NewsHour” and CNN's “Capital Gang.” Mark Shields. Longtime TV ...

From 1988 until 2005, Shields served as a moderator and panelist on CNN's “Capital Gang,” a weekly political talk show. Love of politics, sports, and so many people." A native of Weymouth, Mass., Shields graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1959 with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy. "So sad to tell you that my uncle, Mark Shields, died this morning," Ryan said on Twitter Saturday. "He was a special guy: full of heart and wisdom and love. "I am heartbroken," Woodruff said on Twitter. "Mark Shields, who for decades wowed us with his encyclopedic knowledge of American politics, his sense of humor and mainly his big heart, has passed away at 85, with his wife Anne at his side." Shields was best known for providing weekly political analysis and commentary for "PBS NewsHour" between 1988 to 2020.

The genteel political analyst was a fixture on 'PBS NewsHour' for more than 30 years and a co-host of CNN's 'Capital Gang' for 17 years.

Shields’ signed off of his regular Friday night segment of “PBS NewsHour” in December 2020 after more than 30 years with the show. Shields worked on three other presidential campaign efforts and he helped manage various political campaigns in 38 states over his 11 years as an operative. “Capital Gang” went through several incarnations until it ended in 2005. Shields’ death was confirmed through a message shared by “PBS NewsHour” anchor Judy Woodruff on Twitter. Woofruff praised her colleague “who for decades wowed us with his encyclopedic knowledge of American politics” as well as “his sense of humor and mainly his big heart,” she wrote. Shields was known on-air for his tact and wit in delivering incisive analysis and commentary about U.S. politics and policy battles in Washington. He predated the shouting-heads era of cable news that came in the mid-1990s with the advent of Fox News Channel and MSNBC. Mark Shields, the longtime Washington Post political columnist who was a fixture of “ PBS NewsHour” and a co-host of CNN’s “Capital Gang,” died Saturday morning of kidney failure in Chevy Chase, Md. He was 85.

El comentarista político y columnista Mark Shields, que compartió su visión de la política estadounidense y su ingenio en “PBS NewsHour” durante décadas, ...

Junto con Jim Lehrer y Robin MacNeil, personificaba todo lo que es especial en el NewsHour de PBS”. Shields era una figura habitual del programa desde 1987, año en que comenzó a transmitirse, y dejó su segmento de debate habitual de los viernes por la noche en diciembre de 2020. “Hemos tenido miles de desacuerdos a lo largo de los años, pero nunca un segundo de acritud”, escribió Brooks en el artículo. “Mark irradia una generosidad de espíritu que mejora a todos los que se acercan a su luz”.

Mark Shields, a longtime TV political pundit and syndicated columnist in Washington known for his expansive knowledge of U.S. politics, humor and staunch ...

He attended the University of Notre Dame and later spent a decade on Capitol Hill and worked on campaigns for Democrats including former Senator Robert F. Kennedy's 1968 presidential bid. When Shields retired two years ago, Brooks dedicated a column in the Times to his rival. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com