Steve Chapman
Editorial Board Member and Columnist
My Role
Steve Chapman writes a twice-weekly column on national affars, which is syndicated in some 50 newspapers across the country, and writes editorials on legal issues, economics, and foreign relations. He also does a blog that appears on the Chicago Tribune web site.
Born in Brady, Texas in 1954, Chapman grew up in Midland and Austin. He attended Harvard University, where he was on the staff of The Harvard Crimson, and graduated with honors in 1976. He has been a fellow at the American Academy in Berlin and the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, and has served on the Visiting Committee of the University of Chicago Law School.
Chapman, who is married, has two sons, a daughter, and three stepsons. He lives in the suburbs of Chicago.
Born in Brady, Texas in 1954, Chapman grew up in Midland and Austin. He attended Harvard University, where he was on the staff of The Harvard Crimson, and graduated with honors in 1976. He has been a fellow at the American Academy in Berlin and the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, and has served on the Visiting Committee of the University of Chicago Law School.
Chapman, who is married, has two sons, a daughter, and three stepsons. He lives in the suburbs of Chicago.
My Biography
Steve Chapman writes a twice-weekly column on national and international affairs that is syndicated in some 50 papers. A member of the Tribune editorial board since 1981, came to the Tribune from The New Republic magazine, where he was an associate editor. He has contributed articles to several national magazines, including Slate, The American Spectator, The Weekly Standard, Reason, and National Review. He has appeared on numerous TV and radio news programs, include The CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, and National Public Radio’s Fresh Air, Talk of the Nation and On Point.
My Recent Articles
China and the lure of the status quo
5/20/2012
— A rising Asian power with an unstoppable export machine, rapidly growing wealth and a sense that America's time is past and its time has come: China in 2012? Yes — but also Japan in the 1980s.
Obama's 'cynicism' on gay marriage 5/13/2012
How will history judge him? President Barack Obama's critics have a point in criticizing his handling of the gay marriage issue as evasive, politically devious and lacking in principle. I hate to say it, but it's bad enough to qualify as Lincolnesque.
Moderates only look dead 5/10/2012
Don't look now, but the center is holding Moderates, we all hear, are an endangered species. Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., is the latest to be eliminated. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, announced her retirement in February. Bob Kerrey, a war hero and centrist Democrat who once represented Nebraska in the Senate, is running behind in a comeback bid.
Every president is a war president 5/6/2012
Politics protects the garrison state Ninety-six years ago, when President Woodrow Wilson ran for re-election, two notable things happened: 1) His campaign used the slogan "He kept us out of war," and 2) he won.
Investigating a pig's life 5/3/2012
A firsthand look at modern swine production FAIR OAKS, Ind. — If your image of a pig farm involves barnyards, mud and pails of slop, the Cambalot pig farm would come as a surprise. The first thing you notice upon arriving here — OK, the second thing, after a certain recognizable aroma — is that there are no pigs in sight.
— A rising Asian power with an unstoppable export machine, rapidly growing wealth and a sense that America's time is past and its time has come: China in 2012? Yes — but also Japan in the 1980s.
Obama's 'cynicism' on gay marriage 5/13/2012
How will history judge him? President Barack Obama's critics have a point in criticizing his handling of the gay marriage issue as evasive, politically devious and lacking in principle. I hate to say it, but it's bad enough to qualify as Lincolnesque.
Moderates only look dead 5/10/2012
Don't look now, but the center is holding Moderates, we all hear, are an endangered species. Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., is the latest to be eliminated. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, announced her retirement in February. Bob Kerrey, a war hero and centrist Democrat who once represented Nebraska in the Senate, is running behind in a comeback bid.
Every president is a war president 5/6/2012
Politics protects the garrison state Ninety-six years ago, when President Woodrow Wilson ran for re-election, two notable things happened: 1) His campaign used the slogan "He kept us out of war," and 2) he won.
Investigating a pig's life 5/3/2012
A firsthand look at modern swine production FAIR OAKS, Ind. — If your image of a pig farm involves barnyards, mud and pails of slop, the Cambalot pig farm would come as a surprise. The first thing you notice upon arriving here — OK, the second thing, after a certain recognizable aroma — is that there are no pigs in sight.