The passing of David Gergen — public official, speechwriter and strategist, commentator and analyst, teacher and counselor to presidents — reveals much about our present moment. It is difficult to imagine anyone today traveling the path he followed, a path that embraced three arenas: public service, journalism and academia.
A native of Durham, North Carolina, and son of a Duke University mathematician, he attended Yale University and the Harvard Law School before serving three and a half years in the U.S. Navy stationed in Japan.
A willingness to serve
Shortly after he mustered out of the Navy in late 1970, a friend, knowing his writing skills, encouraged the 29-year-old Gergen to apply for a position as an assistant to Ray Price, who had been named to head the Nixon White House speechwriting office. In his interview, Gergen disclosed that he had voted for Hubert Humphrey in the 1968 election. Price responded that Nixon liked a diversity of voices on his staff, including speechwriters. Price and Gergen had a common bond; both had attended Yale as undergraduates. Gergen’s graceful writing and amazing work ethic led to his appointment to succeed Price as director of speechwriting in February 1973.
Shortly after Gerald Ford replaced Richard Nixon, Gergen moved to the Treasury to write speeches and provide political advice to Secretary William Simon. He returned to the White House during Ford’s final year as president.
Gergen’s third White House tour was with Ronald Reagan. He worked with James Baker, who helped to manage Reagan’s campaign during the final months of the 1980 election. Baker assigned Reagan’s pollster and strategist Richard Wirthlin and Gergen to draft a short statement that Reagan could use in his closing remarks in his single 1980 debate with President Jimmy Carter.
Wirthlin, who knew Reagan well, said that Reagan often liked to pose questions to his audience. Their draft included a question that Reagan used with powerful effect: “Ask yourself, are you better off today than you were four years ago?” It became the touchstone of the Reagan campaign during its final days and contributed to his decisive victory.
During the Carter to Reagan transition, I worked with Wirthlin and Gergen on the first 100 days project. I then joined a White House staff filled with Californians who had served with Reagan during his eight years as governor and those who already had Washington experience.
Gergen’s role during the next nearly three years was in communications, helping to craft the message Reagan used to persuade the country to follow his market-oriented economic policies and military buildup to negotiate with the Soviet Union from a position of strength. Reagan’s first term laid the foundation for his 49-state victory in 1984.
A view from both sides
Gergen’s second arena was that of journalism as an editor at the American Enterprise Institute and U.S. News and World Report, and as a columnist, analyst and commentator. Whether with the written word or on television, Gergen had a gift of explaining with clarity and conviction. He understood government from the inside and the media as a distinguished journalist.
He did not make up facts or ignore inconvenient evidence. His analysis, whether reporting, commentating or advising, consistently sought to portray his understanding and his preferences in the best possible light.
The relationship between those in government and in the press rests on trust and on appreciating the conflicting interests of each. Those in the media want to know as much as possible as soon as possible; they work under tight deadlines. Those in government want and need time to understand issues, develop options and refine proposals. The inevitable tension is a staple of their interactions.
Having experienced both sides of the divide, Gergen earned the confidence of those he advised and those with whom he worked.
Gergen returned to the White House one final time, when Bill Clinton, whose rocky initial months threatened his presidency, persuaded Gergen, a Republican, to return as counselor to the president to help “right the ship.” The experiment lasted a little over a year. Gergen’s experience proved helpful, and he sought to deal gracefully with those on the Clinton staff who did not welcome his arrival.
Some of his counsel was heeded; other advice was not. Based on his experience with Richard Nixon, Gergen urged, without success, full transparency in providing documents relating to the Whitewater real estate transactions in Arkansas, an issue that led to the investigations that came to haunt the Clinton administration.
Inspiring the next generation
Gergen’s third endeavor involved inspiring the rising generation, first at Duke University and then for a quarter of a century at Harvard, where he co-founded the Center for Public Leadership. His teaching, wit, mentoring and leadership both inspired students to consider careers in public service and persuaded individuals and foundations to support internships to assist students in seeing government from the inside.
He understood the relationship between the presidency and the press as well as anyone in decades, having seen that relationship from both perspectives. His touchstones were transparency and openness. He was earnest without being overbearing. He earned the trust of presidents, policymakers and the press. His commitment to public service and to seeking common ground never wavered.