American Political Commentator Mark Shields Dies at 85

American political commentator and columnist Mark Shields passed away on Saturday at the age of 85 due to kidney failure, “PBS NewsHour” spokesman Nick Massella said.

Shields was a moderator and panellist on CNN’s “Capital Gang” from 1988 to 2005 and a regular panellist on “Inside Washington,” aired on PBS and ABC, from 2005 until 2013.

Moreover, he wrote “On the Campaign Trail,” an account of the 1984 presidential campaign.

He had partnered with David Brooks in 2001 to provide analysis and commentary in their weekly Shields & Brooks segment and during election specials and conventions and before that with David Gergen and Paul Gigot, according to “PBS NewsHour.” His tenure there spanned six presidencies.

Brooks tweeted his 2020 tribute to Shields in The New York Times, calling it “an attempt to capture one of the finest and beloved men” he had ever known.

“We’ve had thousands of disagreements over the years, but never a second of acrimony,” Brooks wrote in the piece. “Mark radiates a generosity of spirit that improves all who come within his light.”

Judy Woodruff, “PBS NewsHour” anchor and managing editor, tweeted that she was ”heartbroken” to share the news and noted Shields’ wife Anne was at his side at his death.

“Mark Shields had a magical combination of talents: an unsurpassed knowledge of politics and a passion, joy, and irrepressible humour that shone through in all his work,” Woodruff said in a statement. “He loved most politicians but could spot a phoney and was always bold to call out injustice. Along with Jim Lehrer and Robin MacNeil, he personified all that’s special in the PBS NewsHour.“