What Is the Number of President Obama

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Newsweek columnist Fareed Zakaria, one of the nation's most respected foreign-affairs pundits, all but held up his hands in self-defense when I asked him The Question:

Would he want to be the secretary of state in the next presidential administration?

"Oh God!" he replied, grinning in mock distress.

Zakaria, 43, was kidding -- mostly. Few U.S.-based journalists have a resume as weighty as his. Zakaria was named the editor of Newsweek International in 2000, is a regular member of the roundtable of ABC News' "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" and hosts a weekly PBS program called "Foreign Exchange with Fareed Zakaria."

Prior to joining Newsweek, he was managing editor of Foreign Affairs. Zakaria also ran a research project on U.S. foreign policy at Harvard University, where he taught international relations and political philosophy, and is the author of such books as "The Future of Freedom," which was a New York Times best-seller and has been translated into 18 languages.

Zakaria established himself at Newsweek with his dazzling post-9/11 cover story, "Why They Hate Us" -- a 7,000-word article that, as New York magazine put it, "punctured the knee-jerk explanations that simply blamed Islamic religious intolerance."

The 9/11 horror "changed" him, because he said it "made [him] aware of the possibilities of speaking to a very broad audience. I get a certain kind of energy from doing that. Before 9/11, I was in a niche market."

Zakaria, a native of India, doesn't mind if readers disagree with him, as long as "they will respect me for being fair. I never feel like I'm dumbing down."

Secretary of state?

So why not be secretary of state? The subject came up four years ago when New York magazine profiled him in a piece entitled "Man of the World."

A writer for New York erroneously quoted Zakaria as saying his friends thought he was going to be secretary of state someday. (In fact, it was the writer saying that.)

But plenty has changed since then. The new crop of presidential contenders, including Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., has introduced historical possibilities in national politics -- like having a woman or an African-American winning the White House, or a journalist winding up as the next secretary of state.

Zakaria told me a few weeks ago in his Newsweek office that the cabinet speculation is "one of the strange burdens" of having such a prestigious reputation. "I'm flattered, I suppose," he said. "But I'm not a 'party man,' and you usually have to demonstrate that kind of loyalty to be chosen for government office."

I asked him bluntly if he would go to Washington. "I won't be coy with you. I'll give you an honest answer," he began. "I'd always be intrigued. But again, it's unlikely and I'll die happily if I never have a White House pass."

Ultimately, Zakaria said: "If I were a betting man, I wouldn't bet on this."

I wonder if Obama would take that wager, though.

"'I'll die happily if I never have a White House pass.'"

Zakaria professes publicly to respect the field of candidates and insists that he has no loyalties to anyone. But it seems that he has a strong regard for Obama, but not for the usual reasons given by talking heads, namely that the Illinois senator is charismatic and energetic.

Obama is "unique," Zakaria commented, because he spent a good portion of his life living abroad. "That's a big deal. We don't understand how we come across in the rest of the world."

Jon Stewart

Zakaria, mind you, is not a pedantic, stuffed-shirt academic.

Consider that he told me he has been approached to do one of those long, prestigious Playboy interviews, an invitation that he regards as "flattering" and "intriguing." He isn't sure if he'll accept the offer, though: "I just don't know. It feels odd."(I hope he does it, for no other reason than to see Zakaria's serious pronouncements juxtaposed with the magazine's usual fare.)

Zakaria also appears frequently on "The Daily Show" and has developed an unlikely bond with the show's witty host, Jon Stewart. "I believe I am his most frequent guest," he said.

"He is a big friend of the show," said Steve Albani, a spokesman for Comedy Central, which airs "The Daily Show" VIAB, . By Albani's calculations, Zakaria is tied with Sen. John McCain for the lead in appearances; each has made eight to date. "Fareed is great at taking complex issues from around the world," according to Albani, "and breaking them down in ways for everyone to understand."

Zakaria returns the compliment, saying Stewart is a "very smart, serious guy. The impact the show has is amazing."

Does he have any advice for guests on the show? "The kiss of death is to come on the show and have canned jokes," he observed. "The best thing is to have a natural conversation."

Zakaria said that he doesn't get nervous about appearing on TV. "I'm way past that. I may be bad, but I'm not nervous."

Style

Zakaria has amassed a loyal following by standing apart from the pack of naysayer journalists who feel that they have to shout to be heard.

While talking about CNN's outspoken icon Lou Dobbs, who focuses on the immigration issue, he called Dobbs' program "The Republic of Dobbs." Zakaria continued: "If anything he said was true, Pat Buchanan would be president."

Zakaria makes no apologies for his soft-spoken style of communications. "I'm not going to be the guy who has a shtick," he said. "I try to give a very clear and straightforward analysis of the world. Gimmicks interfere with what I do. The problem is that the gimmick takes over."

He's naturally an optimist but says the following about President Bush. "The tragedy for President Bush is that he's making the right moves with North Korea, and to an extent with Iran. But it's too late to turn things around."

As I tried to get a handle on what makes Zakaria tick, I decided to ask him a question that no interviewer has asked: What's your favorite movie?

His answer was revealing. It is "Casablanca."

Humphrey Bogart, the film's antihero, "was a smooth, smart person who seemed indifferent to right and wrong but actually had a deep moral core. And Rick's Bar is this wonderful piece of America in a crazy world."

That sounds like something Newsweek's resident foreign-affairs specialist could relate to.

MEDIA WEB QUESTION OF THE DAY: Could a journalist ever be secretary of state?

FRIDAY STORY OF THE WEEK: "The Media in the Mud," by David S. Broder in the Washington Post, April 19.

THE READERS RESPOND to my column about CBS News and Katie Couric: "Jon: Stop being an apologist every time you write about Katie Couric. I for one appreciate the info. I do not tire of reading about it. You are one of the few journalists I trust. Don't disappoint me and cop out to pressure." Avery Insinger

(Media Web appears on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.)

What Is the Number of President Obama

Source: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/newsweeks-fareed-zakaria-may-yet-land-in-washington

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