Time has just hired former ABC News political director Mark Halperin. So that whole thing where we made fun of Eric Alterman for being all, "Time magazine is a right-wing talking point rag that only hires Republicans?" Maybe he was right! Halperin, while not a Republican, is the next best thing: Someone so cowed by accusations of "liberal media bias" that he will bend over backwards and fold himself into some kind of geometrically-improbable shape to give the G.O.P. the right to define the story. So keep shouting about this, Alterman, you may yet get that job at Time you so obviously covet.

MARK HALPERIN JOINS TIME

(New York, April 30, 2007)—Mark Halperin joins TIME as an editor-at-large and senior political analyst effective May 3, it was announced today by Richard Stengel, Managing Editor, TIME.

One of the most widely respected political reporters in the country, Halperin will contribute regularly to TIME magazine and have a daily presence on TIME.com. Based in New York, he will also maintain an office in the Washington, DC bureau of TIME and will join the magazine's reporting team covering the 2008 elections. He will continue to serve as a political analyst for ABC News, where he has been on staff since 1988. For abcnews.com, Halperin founded and edited the online publication The Note, which has been characterized as the most influential daily tipsheet in American politics by publications including The New Yorker, the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Vanity Fair.

"Mark is universally recognized as one of the finest political journalists working today," Stengel said. "His incisive analysis and voice are instantly recognizable, and his addition to TIME's top-notch political team will take our coverage to even greater heights."

"Throughout my career, for journalists and readers, TIME has been the gold standard for political reporting," Halperin said. "I could not be more excited about writing for this evolving news organization—and starting at such a thrilling time in American politics."

From November 1997 until April 2007, Halperin served as political director of ABC News, responsible for political reporting and planning for the network's television, radio and Internet coverage. He also appeared regularly on ABC News television and radio as a correspondent and analyst, including for election night coverage, presidential inaugurations and State of the Union speeches. He began working at ABC News in 1988 and has covered five presidential elections.

Over his nearly twenty years as a journalist, Halperin has covered every major American political story, including working as a full-time reporter covering the Clinton presidential campaign in 1992 and the Clinton White House. He also covered major non-political stories, such as the O.J. Simpson criminal trial and the Oklahoma City bombing.

Halperin is the co-author of The Way to Win: Taking the White House in 2008. He received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University and resides in New York City with Karen Avrich.

TIME is a global multimedia brand that includes TIME.com, TIME Style & Design, TIME for KIDS and Timeforkids.com. TIME's worldwide editions include TIME U.S., TIME Canada, TIME Europe, TIME Asia and TIME South Pacific. TIME magazine is the world's largest weekly newsmagazine with a domestic audience of more than 20 million and a global audience of more than 27 million.