Jack Cafferty is a political commentator for CNN on the Wolf Blitzer-hosted The Situation Room, as well as a 20-year veteran of New York local news. He is the author of the book It's Getting Ugly Out There: The Frauds, Bunglers, Liars, and Losers Who Are Hurting America. Cafferty's wife, Carol Cafferty, passed away on September 5, 2008.

Carol and Jack Cafferty were together for 35 years until her death. Cafferty wrote the following about his wife:

• "She has been my rock, having done a magnificent job of keeping me from getting full of helium and drifting off the surface of the earth... She was all the incentive I needed to make painful but transforming changes - to get sober and stop smoking."Cafferty File: Remembering Carol Cafferty (September 5, 2008)

Before he worked for CNN, Cafferty was the anchor of Newsline New York from 1989-1992, and New York's WB-11 News at 10 from 1992-1998. Cafferty has won numerous presigious awards for his journalism, including an Emmy and the Edward R. Murrow Award. He began contributing to The Situation Room in 2005.

On April 9, 2008, Cafferty said of the Chinese, "I think they're basically the same bunch of goons and thugs they've been for the last 50 years." The comments sparked a serious controversy, and Cafferty clarified his remarks, saying he was speaking of the Chinese leadership and not the Chinese people. Nevertheless, two Chinese citizens decided to sue CNN, Turner Broadcasting and Cafferty for $1.3 billion&m dash;one dollar for each citizen in the country.Reuters: CNN now sued for $1.3 billion (April 24, 2008)

• Google Images: Jack Cafferty