Ben Smith is an American political journalist and blogger for the news outlet Politico, which was frequently cited during the 2008 presidential election. He formerly wrote for the Wall Street Journal Europe, the New York Sun, the New York Observer and wrote a political column for the New York Daily News. He was born and raised in New York City and currently lives in Brooklyn.
Smith covered the Democratic presidential primary for POLITICO in 2008. He broke stories including Barack Obama's relationship with former Weatherman Bill Ayers and provided early coverage of conspiracy theories about Barack Obama's birth and religion. In 2010, he reported on a confidential Republican National Committee fundraising presentation counseling the party to capitalize on fear.
Between 2004 and 2006, Smith also started three of the leading New York City political blogs, the Politicker, the Daily Politics, and Room Eight.
Smith reported erroneously during that 2008 campaign that John Edwards would be dropping out of the race before the press conference at which Edwards announced that his wife Elizabeth had cancer. Smith later posted an apology and retracted the story.