David Gergen, a veteran political commentator and White House advisor to four former US presidents, passed away on July 10th in the Massachusetts retirement community. He was 83 years old.
Gergen’s son Christopher confirmed his death Friday in the Washington Post and the New York Times. He shared that his father died of dementia in the body of Levy, a brain disorder that affects thoughts, memories and movements, according to the Mayonnaise Clinic.
The well-known political insider and Harvard University professor regularly served as senior analysts at CNN and used insights from his White House experience under former Republican presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and Democrat Bill Clinton.
The North Carolina native has been married since 1967 to British family therapist Anne Elizabeth Gergen. The pair shared two children and five grandchildren, according to Harvard professor Page in Gergen. Their son is a North Carolina social entrepreneur and Duke faculty member, and his daughter, Catherine, works as a family doctor at Boston Medical Center.
“We count David among the great leaders at Kennedy School, who have the courage and commitment that has inspired generations to go outside and change the world for the better,” said Jeremy Weinstein, dean of Kennedy School and professor of public policy.
Veteran with 27 honorary degrees, author, Ivy League alumni
Gergen was a graduate of both Yale and Harvard schools, but he received 27 honorary degrees throughout his career.
He is a veteran of the DC Barr, US Navy, a member of the Foreign Relations Council, and an attorney for the US Executive Committee of the Trilateral Committee.
He is also the author of two books, Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership Nixon to Clinton in 2001 and Hearts touched by Fire: How Great Leaders were created in 2022.
In “The Heart Touches Fire,” Gergen wrote that Americans “live in the enormous volatility of our national lives. As the crisis strikes us from all directions, they “seek for the infusion of powerful leaders to help us navigate safely.”
“The United States is experiencing one of the worst crises since the beginning of the Republic,” he wrote. “The next year is likely to be rough, but if we remember who we are, if we take our hearts out of the past, and if we prepare the younger generation for a life of service and leadership, we can be much more useful in the long run.”
When did Gergen join the Nixon administration?
Gergen’s political career began under the administration of President Richard Nixon, and before the Republicans resigned in 1974, he was potentially involved in the Watergate scandal.
According to an excerpt cited by CNN, Gergen wrote in his memoir that “before self-destructing, Nixon was one of the greatest presidents of the present day.”
In his 1996 memoir, Briefing Call, former White House Executive Director Merlin Fitzwater described Gergen as a “political legend, a survivor of the Nixon White House” and a “trusted member of the Reagan Inner Circle.”
Fitzwater, who served as the White House press secretary from 1982 to 1992, was called the “spin master” for President Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, and “had a special trick to get reporters into discussions, confirming reporters’ attitudes towards the issue, and directing explanations to match reporters’ living things in the mid-congonchon.
His White House career did not end with the Watergate scandal. Gergen later advised GOP Presidents Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan, and ultimately Democrat Bill Clinton.
When did Gergen become a journalist?
Gergen began his journalist career in 1984, first working at PBS for Macneil-Lehrer Newshour. Ten years later, he served as editor-in-chief of US News & World Report and became a public service commentator for 30 years.
However, many Americans are most aware that he is one of CNN’s long-standing topics and provides an analysis of all politics.
His work won two Emmy Awards in political analysis and two Peabody Awards for his contributions to the election press team.
Gergen was also involved in various nonprofit committees, including Yale University and parts of Duke University. He also served as a New Interest Board, New Politics Leadership Council, and now as an Academic Advisor for Leadership. In 2017 he co-founded and co-chaired with Honor, a group aimed at passing bipartisan law and selecting principled veterans.
What did Gergen say about the former president?
From his 2000 book, Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership Nixon to Clinton, he served as president David Gergen:
Richard Nixon: “Richard Nixon as the most attractive guy I’ve ever met in my 30 years of public life. … There was an aspect to Nixon that wasn’t reflected in Watergate or in the tapes. To this day, Nixon had it all and he complained that he kicked it out.
Gerald Ford: “While I was in office, Ford’s image was someone who meant as Bumble and often, but as Lyndon Johnson once said, he couldn’t chew gum, as he couldn’t walk straight at the same time, but that’s an unfair feature. The press (after all, he had been offered a contract to play professional football) we struggled to help him see the guys who worked every day.”
Ronald Reagan: “Reagan wasn’t comfortable on his skin. He was calm. And he had a clear sense of what he was trying to achieve. Those were one of his greatest strengths as a leader. No one had to tell him those things. He knew where he wanted to go and how he might get there. Instead of trying to treat him like a marionette, as we sometimes did, the best we could do for our staff was to clear the obstacles from his path. ”
Bill Clinton: “To his friends and enemies, Bill Clinton is a mass of contradictions. He is one of the cleverest men ever elected, and has done stupid things. He has less history knowledge than most of his predecessors. But he has repeatedly injured her.”
What is Lewiebody dementia?
According to Norma Loeb, founder of Lewy Body Loeb, Lewy Bode Mentionia is a type of progressive dementia and the second most common condition after Alzheimer’s disease.
There are two forms of Lewiebody dementia. It is a dementia accompanied by dementia, a Levy Body (DLB) and Parkinson’s disease.
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes says people with LBD may live between 2 and 20 years from diagnosis to death.
Contributions: Joshua Bote and Jayme Deerwester from USA Today
