Jack Germond, an irascible old-time newsman who employed horse sense and shoe leather to inform Americans about the ups, downs and twisty turns of their nation’s politics as a newspaper reporter, syndicated columnist and television pundit, died on Wednesday at his home in Charles Town, W.Va. He was 85.

The cause was complications of chronic respiratory failure, his wife, Alice Travis Germond, said.

Mr. Germond covered 10 presidential elections and became nationally known as an opinionated liberal on “The McLaughlin Group” and other public affairs TV programs. He and Jules Witcover wrote a syndicated column that appeared five days a week in about 140 newspapers from 1977 through 2000. They also wrote a book on each presidential election from 1980 to 1992.

In an interview, Mr. Witcover stressed the seriousness with which Mr. Germond approached journalism. His commentary was not just opinion, he said; rather, “he drew conclusions on the basis of reporting.” Mr. Witcover called him “one of the last of the old school of reporting.”

On the campaign trail, Mr. Germond was known for his outsize personality, with a waistline and appetite to match. Cozying up to a source, he once downed 13 Irish whiskeys followed by beers. He recalled savoring a rib-eye steak “the size of a rhino.” He titled his 2002 memoir “Fat Man in a Middle Seat: Forty Years of Covering Politics.”