David Gergen, a political analyst for CNN and frequent political commentator who was an adviser to four presidents, has died. He was 83.
His son, Christopher, told The New York Times that the cause was Lewy body dementia. His daughter, Katherine Gergen Barnett, disclosed in December that he had been diagnosed with the illness.
Gergen was the rare figure who served as an adviser to presidents of different parties, including Richard M. Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, experience that he chronicled in his 2001 book Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership, Nixon to Clinton.
The bipartisan experience gave him credibility as a commentator that many others lacked, especially in an era flooded with punditry and where just about anyone could call themselves as “political strategist.”
Gergen launched his career in journalism and as a commentator in 1984, appearing on PBS‘ MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour, where he was teamed up with Mark Shields, and later serving as chief editor of U.S. News & World Report.
Gergen served as White House director of speechwriting for Nixon, communications director for Ford and Reagan, and counselor to Clinton.
He also was professor of public service and founding director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School.
More to come.
