Roy Douglas Wead (17 May 1946 – 10 December 2021) was a conservative commentator and writer. He wrote 27 books. In 1992, Wead was the Republican candidate for Arizona's 6th congressional district, but was defeated by the Democratic candidate, Karan English. He served as special assistant to U.S. president George H. W. Bush, and has been credited with coining the phrase "compassionate conservative". Between 1997 and 2000, Wead recorded several hours of phone conversations between himself and George W. Bush without Bush's knowledge. Early life and education Wead was born in Muncie, Indiana. He attended Riley High School, in South Bend, Indiana, then graduated from Canyonville Bible Academy, a private boarding school in Canyonville, Oregon, in 1964. He also attended Central Bible College in Springfield, Missouri. In 1990, Wead was given an honorary degree from Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Career In 1979, Wead gave a speech titled "The Compassionate Conservative" at the annual Charity Awards Dinner, and tapes of the speech were later sold at corporate seminars. In 1992, Wead was the Republican candidate for U.S. Congress in Arizona's 6th congressional district, despite having lived in Arizona for only two years. Wead won the Republican nomination by proposing a tax limit and airing a television commercial featuring praise by former President Ronald Reagan for his humanitarian efforts. The Democratic nominee, Karan English, received the endorsement of former Arizona Senator and 1964 Republican presidential nominee Barry Goldwater, who noted her 22 years of residency in the state. Wead countered that Goldwater's support of abortion rights spurred the unexpected crossing of party lines. He lost the general election to English. Wead was an active participant in the 2000 United States presidential election, receiving some credit for George W. Bush's victory in the Iowa straw polls of 1999. Time magazine called Wead an insider in the Bush family orbit and "the man who coined the phrase 'compassionate conservative'", which George W. Bush picked up in 1987 from Wead. Wead was a senior adviser to the Ron Paul 2012 Campaign, and the Rand Paul 2016 campaign. Wead wrote the 2019 book Inside Trump's White House: The Real Story of His Presidency, published November 2019 by Center Street, an imprint of Hachette Book Group. The book made headlines when it claimed that the Obama White House held "Political Correctness" meetings. Former Obama administration members denied this, and responded that Wead was likely referring