“Inaugural speeches are supposed to be huge and stirring. Presidents haul our heroes onstage, from George Washington to Martin Luther King Jr. George W. Bush brought the Liberty Bell. They use history to make greatness and achievements seem like something you can just take down from the shelf.”

American journalist, born 1968

John Frederick Dickerson is an American journalist and contributing writer at The Atlantic. He was born in 1968 and has worked in television news for much of his career, including at CBS News, where he became co-anchor of CBS Evening News in 2025 alongside Maurice DuBois. Dickerson is known for political reporting and analysis, with work that has moved between print and broadcast journalism. His writing and reporting often reflect the habits of a political correspondent, focusing on public life, current events, and the institutions that shape them.