James Arthur Wechsler (October 31, 1915 – September 11, 1983) was an American journalist who worked as a newspaper columnist, Washington bureau chief, editor-in-chief, and editorial page editor of The New York Post.
He was a prominent voice of American liberalism for 40 years and was considered one of the most highly informed and responsible political writers in Washington.
[1] In his first year, he attended a speech by Columbia President Nicholas Murray Butler, who said that democracies are incapable of choosing strong leaders like totalitarian nations could, which shocked him.
In May 1949, at 33, Wechsler became the editor of The New York Post and, in an unusual arrangement, he was in charge of both the news operation and the editorial page.
The Post then became known as a crusading liberal newspaper, undertaking investigate exposés of figures like J. Edgar Hoover, Walter Winchell, and Robert Moses.