Peter M. Robinson

Murdoch Distinguished Policy Fellow
Biography: 

Peter M. Robinson is the Murdoch Distinguished Policy Fellow at the Hoover Institution, where he writes about business and politics, edits Hoover's quarterly journal, the Hoover Digest, and hosts Hoover's video series program, Uncommon Knowledge™.

Robinson is also the author of three books: How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life (Regan Books, 2003); It's My Party: A Republican's Messy Love Affair with the GOP, (Warner Books, 2000); and the best-selling business book Snapshots from Hell: The Making of an MBA (Warner Books, 1994; still available in paperback).

In 1979, he graduated summa cum laude from Dartmouth College, where he majored in English. He went on to study politics, philosophy, and economics at Oxford University, from which he graduated in 1982.

Robinson spent six years in the White House, serving from 1982 to 1983 as chief speechwriter to Vice President George Bush and from 1983 to 1988 as special assistant and speechwriter to President Ronald Reagan. He wrote the historic Berlin Wall address in which President Reagan called on General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall!"

After the White House, Robinson attended the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. (The journal he kept formed the basis for Snapshots from Hell.) He graduated with an MBA in 1990.

Robinson then spent a year in New York City with Fox Television, reporting to the owner of the company, Rupert Murdoch. He spent a second year in Washington, D.C., with the Securities and Exchange Commission, where he served as the director of the Office of Public Affairs, Policy Evaluation, and Research. Robinson joined the Hoover Institution in 1993.

The author of numerous essays and interviews, Robinson has published in the New York Times, Red Herring, and Forbes ASAP, the Wall Street Journal, and National Review Online. He is the editor of Can Congress Be Fixed?: Five Essays on Congressional Reform (Hoover Institution Press, 1995).

In 2005, Robinson was elected to serve as a Trustee of Dartmouth College.

Robinson lives in northern California with his wife, their children and their dog, Crusoe.

His research papers are available at the Hoover Institution Archives.

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Recent Commentary

In the News

Ferguson and Long on Obama, Lincoln, and More: Chapter 3 of 5

by Peter M. Robinsonvia Uncommon Knowledge
Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Ferguson and Long reflect on the idea that George W. Bush as commander-in-chief was most like Harry S. Truman...

In the News

Ferguson and Long on Obama, Lincoln, and More: Chapter 2 of 5

by Peter M. Robinsonvia Uncommon Knowledge
Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Ferguson and Long compare and contrast the experience and character of Obama and Lincoln...

Andrew Ferguson and Rob Long compare and contrast the rhetoric of Barack Obama and Abraham Lincoln.

Ferguson and Long on Obama, Lincoln, and More

by Peter M. Robinsonwith Andrew Ferguson, Rob Longvia Uncommon Knowledge
Monday, February 16, 2009

How close in style and substance is Barack Obama to Abraham Lincoln, one of our greatest presidents, who also hailed from Illinois and emerged from a humble background to lead our nation in a time of crisis? Ferguson and Long examine the first inaugural addresses of both men to explore the parallels between the two and offer insights into how President Obama will guide our nation. (36:54 ) Video transcript

In the News

Ferguson and Long on Obama, Lincoln, and More: Chapter 1 of 5

by Peter M. Robinsonvia Uncommon Knowledge
Monday, February 16, 2009

Andrew Ferguson and Rob Long compare and contrast the rhetoric of Barack Obama and Abraham Lincoln...

Analysis and Commentary

What Caused The Crisis?

by Peter M. Robinson with John B. Taylorvia Forbes
Friday, February 13, 2009

Before deciding what to do about the worst economic crisis in more than three decades, policymakers ought to have answered one question: What caused it?...

In the News

Immigration with Mark Krikorian: Chapter 5 of 5

by Peter M. Robinsonvia Uncommon Knowledge
Friday, February 6, 2009

How do we solve our immigration problem?...

In the News

Immigration with Mark Krikorian: Chapter 4 of 5

by Peter M. Robinsonvia Uncommon Knowledge
Thursday, February 5, 2009

Mark Krikorian describes how mass immigration causes “a serious erosion of sovereignty.”...

In the News

Immigration with Mark Krikorian: Chapter 3 of 5

by Peter M. Robinsonvia Uncommon Knowledge
Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Mark Krikorian details the dangers of trans-nationalism and multiculturalism...

In the News

Immigration with Mark Krikorian: Chapter 2 of 5

by Peter M. Robinsonvia Uncommon Knowledge
Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Mark Krikorian presents the fiscal case against immigration...

Mark Krikorian is the executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies

Immigration with Mark Krikorian

by Peter M. Robinsonwith Mark Krikorianvia Uncommon Knowledge
Monday, February 2, 2009

Peter Robinson challenges Mark Krikorian to explain why America -- a nation of immigrants -- should now adopt anti-immigration policies. Krikorian responds by asserting that mass immigration is fundamentally incompatible with a modern society, that it causes a serious erosion of sovereignty, and that it creates a net economic burden on the government. Finally, he details the dangers of transnationalism and multiculturalism that are inherent in immigration today and gives his prescription for solving the problem. (34:52 ) Video transcript

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