Peter Wehner is a Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. He writes widely on political, cultural, religious, and national-security issues. He has written for numerous publications—including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Financial Times, the Weekly Standard, Commentary, National Affairs, Christianity Today and Time magazine. In 2015 he was named a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times. He has also appeared as a commentator on Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, and C-SPAN television and appears frequently on national talk radio programs. In 2011 Forbes magazine featured Mr. Wehner on a short list of conservatism’s leading “educators and practitioners of first principles.” He was described this way: “Author, commentator, problem solver, prolific, daily provider of concise, reasoned, artful analysis and argument; gentle giant of a thinker at the intersection of politics and policy.” He has been named by several magazines as one of the handful of most influential reform-minded conservatives.
Mr. Wehner served in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush Administrations prior to becoming deputy director of speechwriting for President George W. Bush. In 2002, he was asked to head the Office of Strategic Initiatives, where he generated policy ideas, reached out to public intellectuals, published op-eds and essays, and provided counsel on a range of domestic and international issues. He was also a senior adviser to the Romney-Ryan 2012 presidential campaign.
Mr. Wehner is author of City of Man: Religion and Politics in a New Era (co-authored with Michael J. Gerson) and Wealth and Justice: The Morality of Democratic Capitalism (co-authored with Arthur C. Brooks).
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Pete Wehner has become the conscience not only of our organization, but really of the conservative movement, holding us true to our principles, including those that it's somewhat difficult in the course of a difficult struggle to remain faithful to.
Robert P. George
PUBLICATIONS
Conservatism and the Limitations of Self-Reliance
Published in Commentary Magazine on May 8, 2013
Obama Fatigue
Published in Commentary Magazine on May 3, 2013
The President, His Budget, and the Poor
Published in Commentary Magazine on April 11, 2013
The Iron Lady Belongs to the Ages
Published in Commentary Magazine on April 8, 2013
Political Moderation and the Conservative Disposition
Published in Commentary Magazine on April 1, 2013
GOP Should Stand Firm Against Drug Legalization
Published in Washington Post on April 2, 2013
Party, Heal Thyself
Published in TIME Magazine on March 11, 2013
Moral Presuppositions and Politics
Published in Commentary magazine on February 18, 2013
How to Save the Republican Party
Published in Commentary Magazine on March 1, 2013
The Absentee Commander in Chief
Published in The Wall Street Journal on February 10, 2013
Drone Strikes, Waterboarding, and Moral Preening
Published in Commentary magazine's Contentions on February 6, 2013
The Significance of Obama’s Inaugural Address
Published in Commentary on January 21, 2013
America’s Exodus from Marriage
Published in Commentary on January 17, 2013
The Recalibration of Conservatism
Published in Commentary Magazine on December 6, 2012
The Death of ‘Mediscare’
Published in The Wall Street Journal on November 29, 2012
Promises, Promises
Published in The Weekly Standard on July 16, 2012
Five Reasons Why Romney is the Favorite
Published in Commentary Magazine on June 15, 2012
Compromise v. Prudence
Published in Commentary magazine on June 7, 2012
Hate and Forgiveness
Published in Commentary Magazine on May 25, 2012
Abortion and a Just Society
Published in Commentary Magazine on May 23, 2012
Nietzsche vs. Intrinsic Human Worth
Published in Commentary magazine on May 14, 2012
The Moral Case for Conservatism
Published in Commentary Magazine on May 2, 2012
Charles Colson, 1931-2012
Published in The Weekly Standard Blog on April 22, 2012
Challenging Sacred Assumptions
Published in Commentary Magazine on April 18, 2012
The Great Divider
Published in The Weekly Standard on April 23, 2012
Barack Obama and Racial Double Standards
Published in Commentary magazine on April 9, 2012
Even Relativism is Relative
Published in Commentary Magazine on April 2, 2012
How to Think About Inequality
Published in National Affairs on March 21, 2012
Purpose in Life
Published in The Weekly Standard on March 12, 2012
It Will Be Romney vs. Obama
Published in CNN
James Q. Wilson’s Moral Sense
Published in The American on March 2, 2012
Walk Back to the Right Road to Marriage and Parenthood
Published in Commentary Magazine
What Does a Conservative Believe?
Published in TIME on February 2, 2012
Yes, We Can…
Published in The Weekly Standard on February 6, 2012
Obama’s Fictional Narrative
Published in Commentary magazine on January 25, 2012
The Role of Sympathy and Trust in American Politics
Published in Commentary Magazine on January 13, 2012
The Not-So-Weak GOP Frontrunner
Published in Commentary Magazine on January 11, 2012
Partisan Politics and Vicious Assaults
Published in Commentary Magazine on January 5, 2012
The Greatest Story Ever Told
Published in EPPC Online Exclusive on December 24, 2011
U.S. Relations Have Soured Worldwide
Published in Commentary Magazine on November 29, 2011
Political Discourse and Impugning Motives
Published in Commentary Magazine
Optimistic or Pessimistic About America
Published in Commentary Magazine
On Gratitude
Published in Commentary Magazine on October 31, 2011
The Theological and Political Errors of Pastor Jeffress
Published in Commentary Magazine
Power Has its Duties as Well as its Rights
Published in Commentary Magazine
Our Lack of Moral Vocabulary
Published in Commentary Magazine
Decline and Fall
Published in The Weekly Standard
Biden’s Morally Disgraceful China Comments
Published in Commentary Magazine
Rescuing the American Dream: Culture's Power to Reduce Poverty
Published in Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity
Obama’s Transparent Political Calculation is Unsettling
Published in Commentary Magazine on June 23, 2011
Rights Must Be Grounded In Eternal Truths
Published in Commentary Magazine on June 22, 2011
If Only Elections Were More Like 1800!
Published in Commentary Magazine on May 24, 2011
Newt Gingrich and the Adultery Question
Published in The Christian Science Monitor
When Obama Became Bush (on Iraq)
Published in Commentary Magazine on May 20, 2011
The Flawed Theology of N. T. Wright
Published in Commentary Magazine on May 12, 2011
Conservatives Should Look to the Founders to See How to Fight for Their Ideas
Published in Commentary Magazine on May 5, 2011
The Incredible Shrinking Obama
Published in The Weekly Standard
The GOP and the Birther Trap
Published in The Wall Street Journal
Not Worth the Showdown
Published in New York Times
A Party of Ideas
Published in Commentary Magazine on April 5, 2011
The Devil We Know
Published in The Weekly Standard on April 4, 2011
Citizens Not Subjects
Published in The Weekly Standard on March 14, 2011
The Dangers of Demonization and the Conspiracy Temptation
Published in Commentary Magazine on March 2, 2011
On a Liberal Mission
Published in The New York Times
The President’s Speech: An Irresponsible Performance
Published in Commentary Magazine on January 26, 2011
Martin Luther King Jr.
Published in Commentary Magazine on January 17, 2011
The Cynicism and Intellectual Corruption of the Left
Published in Commentary Magazine on January 10, 2011
Class Warfare
Published in The Weekly Standard
Human Nature and Capitalism
Published in The American on December 11, 2010
Civility as a Political Virtue
Published in Commentary Magazine's Contentions Blog on December 1, 2010
The Soul of the State
Published in The Christian Science Monitor on November 10, 2010
Take the High Road
Published in The New York Times Room for Debate on November 3, 2010
Obama After the Fall
Published in Commentary Magazine's Contentions Blog on November 3, 2010
Conservatives Must Govern with Prudence and Patience
Published in Commentary Magazine's Contentions Blog on October 26, 2010