Richard Cohen (columnist)
| Richard Cohen | |
|---|---|
| Born |
February 6, 1941 New York City, New York |
| Alma mater | Hunter College (AB 1967) Columbia University (Master of Arts 1968) |
| Occupation | Columnist |
Richard Martin Cohen (born February 6, 1941) is an American syndicated columnist for the Washington Post.
Cohen is a graduate of Far Rockaway High School and attended Hunter College, City University of New York, and Columbia University. He served for two years in the U.S. Army, during the early 1960s.,
Cohen worked for United Press International in New York.
He joined the Washington Post as a reporter in 1968 and later became the paper's chief Maryland correspondent. He covered the investigation of former Vice President Spiro Agnew and wrote a book called A Heartbeat Away: The Investigation and Resignation of Vice President Spiro T. Agnew with fellow reporter Jules Witcover. In 1976, he began writing a column for the paper's Metro section, which became nationally syndicated in 1981.
In 1998, Cohen was involved in a dispute with editorial aide Devon Spurgeon that was ultimately mediated by Washington Post management. Cohen reportedly asked Spurgeon questions about "casual sex", told her to "stand up and turn around", and gave her the "silent treatment" for three weeks. Cohen contended that "it was a personality dispute at an office, but it had nothing to do with sexual harassment as the term applies today".Post management concluded that Spurgeon had been subjected to a "hostile working environment" but not to "sexual harassment" and that Cohen was guilty of "inappropriate behavior".
He is a four-time Pulitzer Prize finalist in the "Commentary" category, though he has never won.
Cohen was originally a supporter of the Iraq War, and publicly supported the Bush administration in several other high-profile instances. In a 2003 Washington Post column, Cohen wrote, "The evidence Colin Powell presented to the United Nations – some of it circumstantial, some of it absolutely bone-chilling in its detail – had to prove to anyone that Iraq not only hasn't accounted for its weapons of mass destruction but without a doubt still retains them. Only a fool – or possibly a Frenchman – could conclude otherwise." Cohen also wrote that he believed "the prudent use of violence could be therapeutic" after the events of 9/11. Cohen has since expounded upon his former views of support for the Iraq War, and his later stance against it.
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