Latest news with #presidentialadviser
Yahoo
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
David Gergen, ex-adviser to Republican and Democratic presidents, dies aged 83
David Gergen, a veteran of Washington politics and an adviser to four presidents, Republican and Democrat, in a career spanning decades in government, academia and media, has died. He was 83. Gergen was perhaps best known for a line he summoned for then presidential candidate Ronald Reagan for a TV debate with Jimmy Carter: 'Are you better off than you were four years ago?' The question hit a nerve in a nation wracked by inflation and a hostage crisis in Iran. The answer came back no, and Reagan won the White House. Gergen later reflected: 'Rhetorical questions have great power. It's one of those things that you sometimes strike gold. When you're out there panhandling in the river, occasionally you get a gold nugget.' Gergen served in the administrations of Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Reagan and Bill Clinton, racking up stints as speechwriter, communications director and counselor to the president, among other roles. He entered politics after serving in the US navy in the 1960s, taking a job as a speechwriting assistant for Nixon in 1971 and rising rapidly to become director of speechwriting two years later. He later served as director of communications for both Ford and Reagan, and as a senior adviser to Clinton and secretary of state Warren Christopher. Between stints in government, he managed a successful media career, working variously as an editor at US News & World Report, on the PBS show the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, and with CNN and CBS. In 2000, he published Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership: Nixon to Clinton, a memoir of his time in government. Reflecting on his time in the White House, he wrote of several essential elements a leader should possess. They included inner mastery; a central, compelling purpose rooted in moral values; a capacity to persuade; an ability to work within the system; a sure, quick start; strong, prudent advisers; and a passion that inspires others to carry on the mission. In a second book, Hearts Touched With Fire: How Great Leaders are Made, published two years later, he wrote: 'Our greatest leaders have emerged from both good times and, more often, challenging ones … The very finest among them make the difficult calls, that can ultimately alter the course of history.' Gergen, a North Carolina native, was a graduate of Yale and Harvard Law School, and returned there after his political career to establish the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School. He received 27 honorary degrees over the course of his career. After his passing was announced late on Friday, former colleagues remarked on his capacity for bipartisanship and collaboration. Al Gore, who served as Clinton's vice-president, posted on X: 'Of the countless ways that David Gergen contributed to our great country, what I will remember him for most was his kindness to everyone he worked with, his sound judgment, and his devotion to doing good in the world.' Dean Jeremy Weinstein of the Harvard Kennedy School said Gergen 'devoted decades of his life to serving those who sought to serve'. Gergen reportedly told his daughter Katherine Gergen Barnett after the November 2024 election that 'we are going through a period of fear. We have been tested, we are being tested now, but we must recognize that politics in our country is like a pendulum,' CNN said. A month later, when Gergen's dementia diagnosis was disclosed, she penned his thoughts in a column for the Boston Globe. ''As awful as life is currently in the public sphere, there is still reason to believe in our country and its leadership and to go into service,'' she quoted Gergen as saying. ''Americans can endure any crisis, but they need to continue to take a sense of responsibility for their country.''
The Guardian
13-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
David Gergen, ex-adviser to Republican and Democratic presidents, dies aged 83
David Gergen, a veteran of Washington politics and an adviser to four presidents, Republican and Democrat, in a career spanning decades in government, academia and media, has died. He was 83. Gergen was perhaps best known for a line he summoned for then presidential candidate Ronald Reagan for a TV debate with Jimmy Carter: 'Are you better off than you were four years ago?' The question hit a nerve in a nation wracked by inflation and a hostage crisis in Iran. The answer came back no, and Reagan won the White House. Gergen later reflected that 'rhetorical questions have great power. It's one of those things that you sometimes strike gold. When you're out there panhandling in the river, occasionally you get a gold nugget.' Gergen served in the administrations of Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Reagan and Bill Clinton, racking up stints as speechwriter, communications director and counselor to the president, among other roles. He entered politics after serving in the US navy in the 1960s, taking a job as a speechwriting assistant for Nixon in 1971 and rising rapidly to become director of speechwriting two years later. He later served as director of communications for both Ford and Reagan, and as a senior adviser to Clinton and secretary of state Warren Christopher. Between stints in government, he managed a successful media career, working variously as an editor at US News & World Report, on the PBS show the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, and with CNN and CBS. In 2000, he published Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership: Nixon to Clinton, a memoir of his time in government. Reflecting on his time in the White House, he wrote of several essential elements a leader should possess. They included inner mastery; a central, compelling purpose rooted in moral values; a capacity to persuade; an ability to work within the system; a sure, quick start; strong, prudent advisers; and a passion that inspires others to carry on the mission. In a second book, Hearts Touched With Fire: How Great Leaders are Made, published two years later, he wrote: 'Our greatest leaders have emerged from both good times and, more often, challenging ones. … The very finest among them make the difficult calls, that can ultimately alter the course of history.' Gergen, a North Carolina native, was a graduate of Yale and Harvard Law School, and returned there after his political career to establish the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School. He received 27 honorary degrees over the course of his career. After his passing was announced late Friday, former colleagues remarked on his capacity for bipartisanship and collaboration. Al Gore, who served as Clinton's vice-president, posted on X: 'Of the countless ways that David Gergen contributed to our great country, what I will remember him for most was his kindness to everyone he worked with, his sound judgment, and his devotion to doing good in the world.' Dean Jeremy Weinstein of the Harvard Kennedy School, said Gergen 'devoted decades of his life to serving those who sought to serve'. Gergen reportedly told his daughter Katherine Gergen Barnett after the November 2024 election that 'we are going through a period of fear. We have been tested, we are being tested now, but we must recognize that politics in our country is like a pendulum,' CNN said. A month later, when Gergen's dementia diagnosis was disclosed, she penned his thoughts in a column for the Boston Globe. ''As awful as life is currently in the public sphere, there is still reason to believe in our country and its leadership and to go into service,'' she quoted Gergen as saying. ''Americans can endure any crisis, but they need to continue to take a sense of responsibility for their country.''
The Guardian
12-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
David Gergen, ex-adviser to Republican and Democratic presidents, dies aged 83
David Gergen, a veteran of Washington politics and an adviser to four presidents, Republican and Democrat, in a career spanning decades in government, academia and media, has died. He was 83. Gergen was perhaps best known for a line he summoned for then presidential candidate Ronald Reagan for a TV debate with Jimmy Carter: 'Are you better off than you were four years ago?' The question hit a nerve in a nation wracked by inflation and a hostage crisis in Iran. The answer came back no, and Reagan won the White House. Gergen later reflected that 'rhetorical questions have great power. It's one of those things that you sometimes strike gold. When you're out there panhandling in the river, occasionally you get a gold nugget.' Gergen served in the administrations of Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Reagan and Bill Clinton, racking up stints as speechwriter, communications director and counselor to the president, among other roles. He entered politics after serving in the US navy in the 1960s, taking a job as a speechwriting assistant for Nixon in 1971 and rising rapidly to become director of speechwriting two years later. He later served as director of communications for both Ford and Reagan, and as a senior adviser to Clinton and secretary of state Warren Christopher. Between stints in government, he managed a successful media career, working variously as an editor at US News & World Report, on the PBS show the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, and with CNN and CBS. In 2000, he published Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership: Nixon to Clinton, a memoir of his time in government. Reflecting on his time in the White House, he wrote of several essential elements a leader should possess. They included inner mastery; a central, compelling purpose rooted in moral values; a capacity to persuade; an ability to work within the system; a sure, quick start; strong, prudent advisers; and a passion that inspires others to carry on the mission. In a second book, Hearts Touched With Fire: How Great Leaders are Made, published two years later, he wrote: 'Our greatest leaders have emerged from both good times and, more often, challenging ones. … The very finest among them make the difficult calls, that can ultimately alter the course of history.' Gergen, a North Carolina native, was a graduate of Yale and Harvard Law School, and returned there after his political career to establish the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School. He received 27 honorary degrees over the course of his career. After his passing was announced late Friday, former colleagues remarked on his capacity for bipartisanship and collaboration. Al Gore, who served as Clinton's vice-president, posted on X: 'Of the countless ways that David Gergen contributed to our great country, what I will remember him for most was his kindness to everyone he worked with, his sound judgment, and his devotion to doing good in the world.' Dean Jeremy Weinstein of the Harvard Kennedy School, said Gergen 'devoted decades of his life to serving those who sought to serve'. Gergen reportedly told his daughter Katherine Gergen Barnett after the November 2024 election that 'we are going through a period of fear. We have been tested, we are being tested now, but we must recognize that politics in our country is like a pendulum,' CNN said. A month later, when Gergen's dementia diagnosis was disclosed, she penned his thoughts in a column for the Boston Globe. ''As awful as life is currently in the public sphere, there is still reason to believe in our country and its leadership and to go into service,'' she quoted Gergen as saying. ''Americans can endure any crisis, but they need to continue to take a sense of responsibility for their country.''
CNN
12-07-2025
- Politics
- CNN
‘It was an honor knowing you': Jake Tapper on David Gergen's passing
David Gergen, who served as a presidential adviser to four presidents of both parties and educated generations of Americans about leadership and civic engagement, has died at the age of 83. CNN's Jake Tapper reports.
The Independent
12-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
David Gergen, adviser to Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton, dies at 83
Presidential adviser and political commentator David Gergen has died at the age of 83. Gergen served alongside four presidents: Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton. He then spent some time as a magazine editor before going from political insider to TV commentator. Gergen died at a retirement community in Lexington, Massachusetts, on Thursday from Lewy body dementia, his son Christopher said, according to The New York Times. Gergen wrote speeches, briefed reporters, and created communication strategies. He also helped set the agenda for the four presidents he served, with Clinton being the only Democrat among them. He began his political career in the Nixon White House and served as communications director on two occasions, first to Gerald Ford and then to Ronald Reagan. The adviser was given credit for easing the harsh rightwing rhetoric that Reagan's more hardline staffers wanted to use. Clinton brought him back into the White House after a number of political mistakes had set his administration on the wrong course. He lasted roughly a year in the Clinton administration, where some viewed him as an intruder and in a time when many Republicans saw him as a deserter. Following his departure from government, he was lauded by the presidents he had served, and he remained mostly unmarred by the issues that had befallen them. He told The Washington Post in 1981 that he had been slow to understand Nixon's guilt in the Watergate scandal. 'I was young, and I was too naïve. It hardened me up a lot.' Decades later, in a 2021 column for CNN, he wrote President Donald Trump was 'a bully — mean, nasty and disrespectful of anyone in his way.' Speaking to The Boston Globe in 2020, he said, 'Centrism doesn't mean splitting the difference.' 'It's about seeking solutions, and you bring people along. I'm happily in that role,' he added at the time. A tall man, 6-feet-5, Gergen became popular with many reporters at the White House, leaking information often enough to be dubbed 'the sieve,' The Times noted. But some journalists weren't so charmed. Mike Kelly, who died in 2003 during the Iraq War, was one of them. 'To be Gergenized is to be spun by the velveteen hum of this soothing man's soothing voice into a state of such vertigo that the sense of what is real disappears into a blur,' he wrote in The New York Times Magazine in 1993. Gergen told Kelly that he had often been 'selling for the sake of selling.' Spinning 'had nothing to do with ideas,' said Gergen. 'It had nothing to do with anything that was real,' he added. 'Eventually, it became selling the sizzle without the steak. There was nothing connected to it. It was all cellophane. It was all packaging.' Between his tours in the White House, Gergen dabbled in journalism, becoming the managing editor of Public Opinion magazine in 1978. The magazine was published by the conservative American Enterprise Institute. He also served as the editor and columnist at U.S. News & World Report in the mid-1980s. He frequently appeared on television and taught at Duke University and Harvard's Kennedy School. Born on May 9, 1942 in Durham, North Carolina, his father was the chair of the mathematics department at Duke. Graduating from Yale with a degree in American studies in 1963, Gergen was an intern in the office of North Carolina's Democratic Governor, Terry Sanford, for three summers. After earning a law degree from Harvard, he joined the Navy in 1967, serving as an officer on a ship in Japan. He married a Brit, Anne Wilson, whom he met on a blind date that same year.
