Michael Gerson

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Michael Gerson is currently a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. He writes a twice-weekly column for the Washington Post and is a Newsweek magazine contributor.


Articles written by or written about Mr. Gerson


Biography

Michael Gerson has been called one of President Bush’s most trusted advisors, the most influential presidential speechwriter in almost a half-century and the conscience of the White House. As a senior administration official who has participated in some of the most important events of recent history, he brings a broad perspective and strong and informed views to the political and policy debates of the day.

Michael Gerson worked closely with President George W. Bush to express in memorable speeches the Nation’s response to the events of 9/11/2001, and then to define and explain the unfolding War on Terror. He is recognized as one of the key intellectual architects of the Bush presidency, particularly on the issues of compassionate conservatism at home and the freedom agenda abroad.

Michael Gerson has participated as a policy advisor and speechwriter in the last three presidential elections. His perspective is informed by a unique background – as a policy expert on Capitol Hill, a working journalist, a senior presidential advisor, and now a commentator.

Mr. Gerson first joined the Bush presidential campaign in spring 1999 as Chief Speechwriter and Senior Policy Advisor, leaving his post as Senior Editor covering politics at U.S. News and World Report. Gerson was also speechwriter and policy advisor for Jack Kemp, a speechwriter for Bob Dole during the 1996 presidential campaign, and policy director for Senator Dan Coats. He also served as a senior policy advisor with The Heritage Foundation, a public policy research institution.

He is recognized and respected by those on the left and the right as an advocate for the poor and suffering at home and abroad. He's also known as a policy innovator on issues ranging from AIDS, to malaria, to genocide, to global development. Singer and activist Bono has commented: “Mike is known as a ‘moral compass’ at the White House. Seems like that compass keeps pointing him in the direction of Africa.”

An alumnus of Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, Mr. Gerson resides with his wife and their two children in Alexandria, Virginia.

Links to More Information


The Washington Post:  See Mr. Gerson's most recent and past op-ed pieces, where he writes about politics, global health and development, religion, and foreign policy.

Heroic Conservatism: Why Republicans Need to Embrace America's Ideals (Oct 2007 release)
  • Editorial Reviews:
    • "...thoughtful and provocative...you will be well-served to sit down and read this important book." -- Senator Joseph I. Lieberman (ID-CT)
    • "A well written and engaging memoir." -- The Weekly Standard
    • "For anyone interested in politics--this book is a must-read." -- William Kristol, Editor, The Weekly Standard
    • "Gerson has been hailed as the finest presidential speechwriter in fifty years and this book shows why." -- Michael Cromartie, Vice President, Ethics and Public Policy Center
    • "One of the brightest thinkers in America gives us a compelling conservative manifesto..." -- Chuck Colson, Founder, Prison Fellowship
    • "This brilliant, entertaining, and honest book repairs conservatism’s moral compass..." -- John J. DiIulio, Jr., professor, University of Pennsylvania, and First Director, White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives
  • Order your copy from the Bryan Online Bookstore

From The Wall Street Journal

  • [Gerson] believes that Democrats could win back religious folks some day. "There was a time in American history not too long ago where the most prominent evangelical was also the leading Democrat  in the country" [referring to William Jennings Bryan]. 
  • Whatever its benefits for the Republicans, Mr. Gerson believes it is "unhealthy" that one party is secular and one party is religious. "My view" he tells me, "is summarized by Martin Luther King, Jr., who said that the church should not be the master of the state, or the servant of the state. It should be the conscience of the state."
  • Mr. Gerson punctuates his speech, the way he punctuated the president's speeches, with biblical references, and he has been accused of making the president speak in a kind of religious code--indeed, Mr. [David] Kuo [former deputy director of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives] recently suggested this. But Mr. Gerson says he isn't trying to hide anything and there are "tens of millions of people" for whom references to the Bible are "very familiar."

"Mr. Compassionate Conservatism"
by Naomi Schaffer Riley
The Wall Street Journal
10.21.06