UPDATED with CNN statement: David Gergen, a political analyst for CNN and frequent political commentator who was an adviser to four U.S. 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 Republicans Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan and Democrat 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 a “political strategist.” His stern-yet-understated tone stood out, particularly as he could provide needed context at breaking news moments.
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.
His appointment to the White House in 1993, just months into Clinton’s term, came as a surprise, given his experience with Republican presidents. But the new administration had been beset with a series of early stumbles.
When he took the job, Gergen recalled to PBS’ Frontline, “I told him that he was terribly out of position and that he had lurched to the left when he came in and it sent signals to people like me, who thought he was going to be a centrist Democrat, that he had lost his moorings.”
Gergen also was a professor of public service and founding director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School.
A CNN spokesperson said today: “David was a beloved member of the CNN family — 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. David brought the same level of excellence and care to his role at CNN that he did to all aspects of his life. Our staff, contributors and audiences are better informed because of his towering influence. We will never forget the lessons in compassion and humility that he taught us.”
Her is survived by his wife, Anne; his son and daughter; and five grandchildren.
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