David Gergen served as a presidential adviser to four presidents of both parties and was a longtime CNN political analyst.
Brian Stelter and Jamie Gangel at CNN:
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. He was 83. Gergen was the founding director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School and a longtime political analyst for CNN. His son, Christopher Gergen, confirmed the death occurred Thursday and said the cause was Lewy body dementia, a brain disease that causes symptoms similar to Parkinson’s.
Gergen was a legendary figure in Washington and beyond who brought insider knowledge and used his media platforms to promote responsible leadership. A CNN spokesperson said he was “always happy to share his wisdom and his spotlight with others.” “A political scholar who served four presidents of both parties, an adoring father and dedicated husband, a senior statesman in every sense of the word, and a tireless educator. But above all else, David was a relentlessly kind and warm person,” the spokesperson said, adding that “our staff, contributors, and audiences are better informed because of his towering influence.” He began his political career in the Nixon White House and later wrote that “before he self-destructed, Nixon was among the best of modern presidents.” He served as communications director on two occasions, first to Gerald Ford and then to Ronald Reagan. Ten years later, after a stint running US News & World Report and his first contract with CNN, he returned to the White House as a counselor to Bill Clinton.
“It was a controversial appointment – both for him and for me, as I had worked previously for three Republican presidents,” Gergen later wrote in a memoir. “But he was a friend, and he was our president, so I said yes. And indeed, I was honored.”
Gergen said Clinton had lost his footing and self-confidence, so “we had to encourage him to rediscover his old strengths and reassert his own authenticity. And that worked!” He did not last long in the Clinton White House, however – presaging the kind of Democrat-Republican animosity that is now considered normal.
Longtime CNN contributor David Gergen died at 83 due to Lewy body dementia. Gergen was an advisor for four different Presidents of both parties: Nixon, Ford, and Reagan for the GOP and Clinton for the Democrats.
