Carville, who has managed more campaigns than any other political consultantin America, got his first job in politics while still a student at AscensionCatholic High School in Carville, La. In 1962, he entered Louisiana StateUniversity but flunked out four years later. After serving two years in theMarine Corps, he returned to LSU, finished his undergraduate degree at night,and earned a law degree.
While working as a litigator for a Baton Rouge law firm, Carville consultedfor Democrats running for local and statewide offices. He managed his firstcampaign, a U.S. Senate race in Virginia in 1982, before teaming up with PaulBegala in 1989 to form the Carville & Begala political consulting firm.The firm specializes in strategy, message development, "earned media" andsupporting the Democratic ticket.
Carville reached the media spotlight with Bill Clinton's election to thepresidency in 1992, the first time a Democrat had claimed the White House in 12years. In 1993, Carville was honored as the Campaign Manager of the Year bythe American Association of Political Consultants for his leadership ofClinton's Little Rock campaign headquarters, known as the "War Room." Thisrole also made him the focus, along with George Stephanopoulos, of thefeature-length documentary film "The War Room," an Academy Award nominee.
Carville is currently senior political advisor to the president. He recentlycompleted his second book, We're Right, They're Wrong, A Handbook forSpirited Progressive. In March of this year, his book reached #1 on TheNew York Times Best Seller's list.
Matalin, who has been the host of the CNBC weeknight talk show, "EqualTime" since 1993, has been active in campaign and party politics since college.She started at the grassroots level in local and statewide campaigns in hernative Illinois.
The Reagan Revolution brought her to Washington, D.C., where she served theRepublican National Committee (RNC) in the political education, re-districtingand deputy chairman offices, before attending Hofstra Law School.
In 1984, Matalin returned to the RNC and became voter contact director for theReagan-Bush campaign. Following the campaign, she worked in the public affairsoffice for President Reagan's Inaugural. In 1985, she became the chief ofstaff to Lee Atwater, co-chairman of the RNC.
Matalin began working for the "George Bush for President" campaign in 1986 andover the next two years held three different positions. In 1992, PresidentBush named her deputy campaign manager for political operations, where she wasresponsible for the overview and organization of all 50 state operations. Asthe on-board planner who travelled with Bush throughout the 1992 campaign, sheemerged as a vocal and occasionally controversial defender of the president andhis policies.
In January 1996, Matalin joined the CBS Talk Radio Network with her ownthree-hour afternoon broadcast. "The Mary Matalin Show" originates inWashington and features a full range of issues and events, interacting withguests and fielding listeners' calls. Talkers Magazine listed Matalinas one of the "100 Most Important Talk Show Hosts in America" in 1996.
Matalin and Carville, who were married in 1993, co-authored the best seller,All's Fair: Love, War & Running for President, in 1994. Thepolitical memoir explores their roles in opposing political camps during the1992 presidential campaign.
The couple live in Maurertown, Va. with their daughter, Matalin Mary Carville,born in July 1995.
