Michael Gerson, an Evangelical former White House speechwriter who writes regular newspaper columns,
is a staunch promoter of the idea that "evil exists and it has to be confronted" (quoted
in the New Yorker, February 13, 2006). The parallels between Gerson's and President George
W. Bush's stark moral outlook has caused some to joke that the two men underwent a "mind meld" during
Gerson's stint at the White House (see Council on Foreign Relations, November, 6, 2006). Working with
a team of other speechwriters, including David
Frum, Gerson helped delineate the country's mission in the "war on terror, as Bush phrased
it in his second inaugural address: " All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know the United
States will not ignore your oppression or excuse your oppressors. When you stand for your liberty,
we will stand with you." Shortly after being promoted to assistant to the president for policy
and strategic planning in 2005, Gerson left the White House to work at the Council
on Foreign Relations. He also writes a twice-weekly column in the Washington Post.
Since his time studying at the evangelical Wheaton College in Illinois, Gerson had been writing about
religious activism on poverty and global health issues, notably AIDS. Charles Colson, who had served
prison time for his role in the Watergate scandal, invited Gerson to work for his prison ministry.
Later, Gerson worked as an adviser for Sen. Dan Coats (R-IN) and as a speechwriter for both Steve
Forbes and Bob Dole in the 1996 presidential campaign (New Yorker, February 13, 2006).
In 1999, Bush, then Texas governor, hired Gerson, who was at the time a senior editor for U.S. News
and World Report, where he was covering the Clinton impeachment, among other issues. Gerson, a
onetime Jimmy Carter supporter (he left the Democratic Party largely over abortion), was immediately
attracted to Bush's supposed "compassionate conservatism."
After Karen Hughes left the White House in 2002, Gerson was promoted to the position of policy adviser,
sparking speculation as to his influence in the White House (Washington Post, October 11,
2002). By February 2007, Gerson was named one of Time magazine's 25 most influential American
Evangelicals. Ramesh Ponnuru, writing in the conservative National Review, referred to him
as "Bush's Soul," noting that "Bush's spokesman and press conferences have not done
much of the work of defending his most important policies or defining his central themes. His prepared
speeches took on that task, and Gerson more than anyone else, wrote them" (National Review,
July 30, 2007). The Washington Post reported further that: "[Gerson] was a formulator
of the Bush doctrine making the spread of democracy the fundamental goal of U.S. foreign policy" (Washington
Post, June 15, 2006).
The Washington Post had noted years earlier: "The hallmark of Gerson's speeches is the
invocation of the vocabulary and literature of faith" (Washington Post, October 11, 2002).
He is credited, along with others on the speechwriting team, with Bush's most important addresses,
including the September 20, 2001 address to Congress and the September 14, 2001 National Cathedral
speech (Washington Post, October 11, 2002). In the lead-up to the Iraq War, Gerson was also
charged with writing speeches "that would offer vivid evidence to the American public of the risk
posed by Hussein, yet try to convince voters that Bush would not attack Iraq rashly. He had to scare
people and reassure them at the same time" (Washington Post, October 11, 2002). It has
been said that when David Frum proposed "axis of hatred" as a designation for Iran, North
Korea, and former Ba'athist Iraqi state, Gerson opted for "axis of evil," preferring its
religious connotations (New Yorker, February 13, 2006).
But it is precisely this quality that has drawn critics like former Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan
to deem Bush's speeches too morally simplistic: "Tyranny is a very bad thing and quite wicked,
but one doesn't expect we're going to eradicate it any time soon. Again, this is not heaven, it's earth" (Wall
Street Journal, January 21, 2005).
At least one former colleague has criticized Gerson. Matthew Scully, a former Dan
Quayle speechwriter who worked on the Bush speechwriting team, wrote in the Atlantic Monthly that "for
all of our chief speechwriter's finer qualities, the firm adherence to factual narrative is not a
strong point," and that Gerson has a "tendency to rearrange and romanticize events." Scully
takes issue with Gerson for downplaying the role of the rest of the speechwriting team. Scully even
goes so far as to claim that he, not Gerson, was responsible for the "War on Terror" hallmark "axis
of evil" (Atlantic Monthly, September 2007).
Gerson angered libertarian conservatives with Heroic Conservatism, his October 2007 book,
in which he argues that "America needs a conservatism that is heroic in its aspirations—this includes
'compassionate conservative' social strategies such as continued international AIDS funding, anti-poverty
initiatives, and a government leadership rooted in moral values" (Blurb on "Heroic Conservatism," Council
on Foreign Relations). These views represent a formidable break with the libertarian portion of the
Republican Party. According to Gerson, the moral urgency of poverty and health, both in this country
and abroad, makes libertarianism appear out of touch with American values. In December 2006, Gerson
advised Republican candidates for the 2008 presidential election: "Campaigning on the size of
government in 2008, while opponents talk about health care, education, and poverty, will seem, and
be, procedural, small-minded, cold, and uninspired. The moral stakes are even higher. What does anti-government
conservatism offer to inner-city neighborhoods where violence is common and families are rare? Nothing.
What achievement would it contribute to racial healing and the unity of our country? No achievement
at all. Anti-government conservatism turns out to be a strange kind of idealism—an idealism that strangles
mercy" (Newsweek, December 25, 2006).
Critics and supporters alike can agree that Gerson has his finger on the pulse of the religious right.
His advocacy for programs to combat poverty and the global AIDS epidemic represents the vanguard of
the U.S. Evangelical movement. In a 2006 Newsweek piece entitled "The New Social Gospel," Gerson
sought to move beyond the "narrowness of the religious right": "During my time in the
White House, the most intense and urgent evangelical activism I saw did not come on the expected values
issues—though abortion and the traditional family weren't ignored—but on genocide, global AIDS, and
human trafficking. The most common request I received was, 'We need to meet with the president on Sudan'—not
on gay marriage. This reflects a head-snapping generational change among evangelicals, from leaders
like Falwell and Robertson to Rick Warren, focused on fighting poverty and AIDS in Africa, and Gary
Haugen, confronting rape and sexual slavery in the developing world. Since leaving government, I've
asked young evangelicals on campuses from Wheaton to Harvard who they view as their model of Christian
activism. Their answer is nearly unanimous: Bono" (November 13, 2006).
Gerson has used his influence to promote a number of humanitarian causes. In the White House, he pushed
for the Bush administration's $15 billion, five-year aid package to combat AIDS in Africa, and was
called the "moral compass" of the White House by U2 singer and activist Bono (Jeffrey Goldberg, New
Yorker). Since arriving at the Council on Foreign Relations, Gerson has voiced concern over inaction
on such humanitarian crises as the Darfur genocide. While he admits "how irreplaceable multilateralism
is," he frequently spends more time dwelling on "how frustrating it is" (Journalist
Roundtable on Darfur, Council on Foreign Relations), anguishing that "[i]n the polished manners
of the United Nations, blood on your hands is not a disqualification for a seat at the diplomatic table" ("A
Date Certain on Darfur," August 10, 2007).
Gerson continues to defend and justify the actions of the Bush administration in his regular column
in the Washington Post. While some deny that the column is a shill for the Bush administration's
policies (Ramesh Ponnuru), Gerson almost always comes out pro-administration. In July 2007, as the
White House was calling out Iran for its activities in Iraq (BBC News, July 24, 2007), Gerson was busy
doing the same. Pointing to both Iran and Syria as the sources of U.S. woes in Iraq, Gerson wrote: "In
a kind of malicious chemistry experiment, hostile powers are adding accelerants to Iraq's frothing
chaos. Iran smuggles in the advanced explosive devices that kill and maim American soldiers. Syria
allows the transit of suicide bombers who kill Iraqis at markets and mosques, feeding sectarian rage.
This is not a complete explanation for the difficulties in Iraq. Poor governance and political paralysis
would exist whether Iran and Syria meddled or not. But without these outside influences, Tony Blair
told me recently, the situation in Iraq would be 'very nearly manageable.'" Gerson, however, is
wary of military action against Iran, but he does call for "limited but forceful action against
Syria's Ho Chi Minh Trail of terrorists" ("Trouble With the Neighbors," July 20, 2007).
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Affiliations
Council on Foreign Relations: Roger Hertog Senior Fellow
Washington Post: Columnist
Harvard University Institute of Politics: Former Visiting Fellow (Fall 2006)
George Bush Presidential Campaign: Speechwriter
U.S. News and World Report: Former Senior Editor
Heritage Foundation: Senior Policy Adviser
Dole-Kemp Presidential Campaign: Policy Adviser and Speechwriter
Prison Fellowship Ministries
Government Service
White House: Assistant to the President for Policy and Strategic Planning (2005-2006); Assistant to the President for Speechwriting and Policy Adviser (2002-2005); Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Presidential Speechwriting (2001-2002)
Office of Sen. Dan Coates (R-IN): Former Adviser
Education
Wheaton College: Theology
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