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'''Michael John Gerson''' (May 15, 1964 – November 17, 2022) was an American journalist and speechwriter. He was an [[op-ed]] columnist for ''[[The Washington Post]]'', a Policy Fellow with [[ONE Campaign|One Campaign]],<ref>{{cite news|last=Pulliam Bailey|first=Sarah|title=Faithfully and Politically Present|url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/article_print.html?id=89975|access-date=July 4, 2011|newspaper=Christianity Today|date=November 10, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=ONE Welcomes the Washington Post's Michael Gerson|url=http://www.one.org/c/us/pressrelease/3438|access-date=July 4, 2011}}</ref> a visiting fellow with the [[Center for Public Justice]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Michael J. Gerson, Visiting Fellow|url=http://www.cpjustice.org/content/michael-j-gerson|access-date=September 22, 2012}}</ref> and a senior fellow at the [[Council on Foreign Relations]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Mr. Compassionate Conservatism|author=Naomi Schaefer Riley| |
'''Michael John Gerson''' (May 15, 1964 – November 17, 2022) was an American journalist and speechwriter. He was an [[op-ed]] columnist for ''[[The Washington Post]]'', a Policy Fellow with [[ONE Campaign|One Campaign]],<ref>{{cite news|last=Pulliam Bailey|first=Sarah|title=Faithfully and Politically Present|url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/article_print.html?id=89975|access-date=July 4, 2011|newspaper=Christianity Today|date=November 10, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=ONE Welcomes the Washington Post's Michael Gerson|url=http://www.one.org/c/us/pressrelease/3438|access-date=July 4, 2011}}</ref> a visiting fellow with the [[Center for Public Justice]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Michael J. Gerson, Visiting Fellow|url=http://www.cpjustice.org/content/michael-j-gerson|access-date=September 22, 2012}}</ref> and a senior fellow at the [[Council on Foreign Relations]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Mr. Compassionate Conservatism|author=Naomi Schaefer Riley|newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|date=October 21, 2006|url=http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110009135}}</ref> He served as President [[George W. Bush]]'s chief [[speechwriter]] from 2001 until June 2006, as a senior policy advisor from 2000 through June 2006, and was a member of the [[White House Iraq Group]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War|isbn=0-307-34681-1|author-link=Michael Isikoff|last=Isikoff|first=Michael|author2=David Corn|author2-link=David Corn|publisher=Crown Publishers|location=New York|date=September 8, 2006}}</ref> |
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Gerson helped write the inaugural address for the [[second inauguration of George W. Bush]], which called for [[neo-conservative]] intervention and [[nation-building]] around the world to effect the spread of democracy to third world countries.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2006/02/13/the-believer-2|title=The Believer|magazine=The New Yorker|access-date=May 29, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> |
Gerson helped write the inaugural address for the [[second inauguration of George W. Bush]], which called for [[neo-conservative]] intervention and [[nation-building]] around the world to effect the spread of democracy to third world countries.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2006/02/13/the-believer-2|title=The Believer|magazine=The New Yorker|access-date=May 29, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> |
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==Early life and education== |
==Early life and education== |
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Gerson was raised in an [[Evangelical Christian]] family<ref name=NewYorker>[http://www.jeffreygoldberg.net/articles/tny/letter_from_washington_the_bel.php New Yorker Magazine: "Letter From Washington: The Believer - George W. Bush’s loyal speechwriter" by Jeffrey Goldberg] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170119003746/http://www.jeffreygoldberg.net/articles/tny/letter_from_washington_the_bel.php |date=January 19, 2017 }} February 13, 2006 | ''"Gerson, whose parents were evangelical Christians (his last name comes from a Jewish grandfather)"''</ref> in [[St. Louis, Missouri]]. He attended [[Westminster Christian Academy (Missouri)|Westminster Christian Academy]] for high school. His paternal grandfather was Jewish.<ref name=NewYorker /> He attended [[Georgetown University]] for a year and then transferred to [[Wheaton College (Illinois)|Wheaton College]] in Illinois, graduating in 1986.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wheaton.edu/Admissions-and-Aid/Undergrad/Learn-About-Wheaton/After-Wheaton|title=About |
Gerson was raised in an [[Evangelical Christian]] family<ref name="NewYorker">[http://www.jeffreygoldberg.net/articles/tny/letter_from_washington_the_bel.php New Yorker Magazine: "Letter From Washington: The Believer - George W. Bush’s loyal speechwriter" by Jeffrey Goldberg] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170119003746/http://www.jeffreygoldberg.net/articles/tny/letter_from_washington_the_bel.php |date=January 19, 2017 }} February 13, 2006 | ''"Gerson, whose parents were evangelical Christians (his last name comes from a Jewish grandfather)"''</ref> in [[St. Louis, Missouri]]. He attended [[Westminster Christian Academy (Missouri)|Westminster Christian Academy]] for high school. His paternal grandfather was Jewish.<ref name="NewYorker" /> He attended [[Georgetown University]] for a year and then transferred to [[Wheaton College (Illinois)|Wheaton College]] in Illinois, graduating in 1986.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wheaton.edu/Admissions-and-Aid/Undergrad/Learn-About-Wheaton/After-Wheaton|title=About Wheaton|website=Wheaton College|language=en|access-date=May 29, 2018}}</ref> |
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==Career== |
==Career== |
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[[File:President George W. Bush reviews his State of the Union speech.jpg|thumb|right|[[Dan Bartlett]], [[Brett Kavanaugh]], [[Condoleezza Rice]], and Gerson review President [[George W. Bush]]'s State of the Union speech in 2004]] |
[[File:President George W. Bush reviews his State of the Union speech.jpg|thumb|right|[[Dan Bartlett]], [[Brett Kavanaugh]], [[Condoleezza Rice]], and Gerson review President [[George W. Bush]]'s State of the Union speech in 2004]] |
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Before joining the Bush Administration, he was a senior policy advisor with The [[Heritage Foundation]], a conservative public policy research institution.<ref name="Time magazine">{{cite |
Before joining the Bush Administration, he was a senior policy advisor with The [[Heritage Foundation]], a conservative public policy research institution.<ref name="Time magazine">{{cite magazine|title=The 25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|url=http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101050207|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050203182958/http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101050207/|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 3, 2005|date=February 7, 2005}}</ref> He also worked at various times as an aide to Indiana Senator [[Dan Coats]] and a speechwriter for the Presidential campaign of [[Bob Dole]] before briefly leaving the political world to cover it as a journalist for ''[[U.S. News & World Report]]''.<ref>{{cite interview |title = Q&A with Michael Gerson |last = Gerson |first = Michael |interviewer= [[Brian Lamb]] |work = Q&A |publisher = [[C-SPAN]] |url = http://www.c-span.org/video/?196000-1/qa-michael-gerson |date=January 7, 2007}}</ref> Gerson also worked at one point as a ghostwriter for [[Charles Colson]].<ref name="msam">Scully, Matthew, "Present at the Creation," ''[[The Atlantic]]'', September 2007, p. 76</ref> In early 1999, [[Karl Rove]] recruited Gerson for the Bush campaign.<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article3628100.ece "Barack Obama is 'extraordinary talent', says Michael Gerson"]. ''[[The Sunday Times]]'' (UK), March 26, 2008.</ref> |
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Gerson was named by ''[[Time Magazine|Time]]'' as one of "The 25 Most Influential [[Evangelicals]] In America." The February 7, 2005 issue listed Gerson as the ninth most influential evangelical that year.<ref name="Time magazine"/> |
Gerson was named by ''[[Time Magazine|Time]]'' as one of "The 25 Most Influential [[Evangelicals]] In America." The February 7, 2005 issue listed Gerson as the ninth most influential evangelical that year.<ref name="Time magazine" /> |
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===Speechwriter=== |
===Speechwriter=== |
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Gerson joined the Bush campaign before 2000 as a speechwriter and went on to head the White House speechwriting team. "No one doubts that he did his job exceptionally well," wrote [[Ramesh Ponnuru]] in a 2007 article otherwise very critical of Gerson in ''[[National Review]]''. According to Ponnuru, Bush's speechwriters had more prominence in the administration than their predecessors did under previous presidents because Bush's speeches did most of the work of defending the president's policies, since administration spokesmen and press conferences did not. On the other hand, he wrote, the speeches would announce new policies that were never implemented, making the speechwriting in some ways less influential than ever.<ref name=rpnr>Ponnuru, Ramesh, "Gerson's World: The president's chief speechwriter turns columnist," article in ''National Review'', July 30, 2007</ref> |
Gerson joined the Bush campaign before 2000 as a speechwriter and went on to head the White House speechwriting team. "No one doubts that he did his job exceptionally well," wrote [[Ramesh Ponnuru]] in a 2007 article otherwise very critical of Gerson in ''[[National Review]]''. According to Ponnuru, Bush's speechwriters had more prominence in the administration than their predecessors did under previous presidents because Bush's speeches did most of the work of defending the president's policies, since administration spokesmen and press conferences did not. On the other hand, he wrote, the speeches would announce new policies that were never implemented, making the speechwriting in some ways less influential than ever.<ref name="rpnr">Ponnuru, Ramesh, "Gerson's World: The president's chief speechwriter turns columnist," article in ''National Review'', July 30, 2007</ref> |
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On June 14, 2006, it was announced that Gerson was leaving the White House to pursue other writing and policy work.<ref>{{cite news| |
On June 14, 2006, it was announced that Gerson was leaving the White House to pursue other writing and policy work.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The New York Times|agency=Associated Press|date=June 14, 2006|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/14/washington/14wire-gerson.html|title=Longtime Bush Speechwriter Leaving White House}}</ref> He was replaced as Bush's chief speechwriter by ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' chief editor [[William McGurn]]. |
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====Lines attributed to Gerson==== |
====Lines attributed to Gerson==== |
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<blockquote>The original plan had been to place it in an upcoming presidential speech, but WHIG members fancied it so much that when the ''Times'' reporters contacted the White House to talk about their upcoming piece [about aluminum tubes], one of them leaked Gerson's phrase – and the administration would soon make maximum use of it.<ref>''Hubris'', p. 35</ref></blockquote> |
<blockquote>The original plan had been to place it in an upcoming presidential speech, but WHIG members fancied it so much that when the ''Times'' reporters contacted the White House to talk about their upcoming piece [about aluminum tubes], one of them leaked Gerson's phrase – and the administration would soon make maximum use of it.<ref>''Hubris'', p. 35</ref></blockquote> |
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Gerson said one of his favorite speeches was given at the [[National Cathedral]] on September 14, 2001, a few days after the [[September 11 attacks]], which included the following passage: "Grief and tragedy and hatred are only for a time. Goodness, remembrance, and love have no end. And the Lord of life holds all who die, and all who mourn."<ref>{{cite news| |
Gerson said one of his favorite speeches was given at the [[National Cathedral]] on September 14, 2001, a few days after the [[September 11 attacks]], which included the following passage: "Grief and tragedy and hatred are only for a time. Goodness, remembrance, and love have no end. And the Lord of life holds all who die, and all who mourn."<ref>{{cite news|first=Jim|last=Rutenberg|date=June 15, 2006|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/15/washington/15gerson.html|title=Adviser Who Shaped Bush's Speeches Is Leaving |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> |
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Gerson was credited with coining such phrases as "the soft bigotry of low expectations" and "the armies of compassion".<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,199580,00.html|title=Leading Bush Speechwriter Resigns|date=June 15, 2006|work=Fox News|access-date=May 29, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> His noteworthy phrases for Bush are said to include "[[Axis of Evil]]," a phrase adapted from "axis of hatred," itself suggested by fellow speechwriter [[David Frum]] but deemed too mild.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.slate.com/id/2076552|title="Axis of Evil" Authorship Settled!|last=Noah|first=Timothy|date=January 9, 2003|work=Slate|access-date=May 29, 2018|language=en-US|issn=1091-2339}}</ref> |
Gerson was credited with coining such phrases as "the soft bigotry of low expectations" and "the armies of compassion".<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,199580,00.html|title=Leading Bush Speechwriter Resigns|date=June 15, 2006|work=Fox News|access-date=May 29, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> His noteworthy phrases for Bush are said to include "[[Axis of Evil]]," a phrase adapted from "axis of hatred," itself suggested by fellow speechwriter [[David Frum]] but deemed too mild.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.slate.com/id/2076552|title="Axis of Evil" Authorship Settled!|last=Noah|first=Timothy|date=January 9, 2003|work=Slate|access-date=May 29, 2018|language=en-US|issn=1091-2339}}</ref> |
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====Criticisms of Gerson as a speechwriter==== |
====Criticisms of Gerson as a speechwriter==== |
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In an article by [[Matthew Scully]] (one of Bush's speechwriters) published in ''[[The Atlantic]]'' (September 2007) Gerson is criticized for seeking the limelight, taking the credit for other people's work and for creating a false image of himself: "No good deed went unreported, and many things that never happened were reported as fact. For all of our chief speechwriter's finer qualities, the firm adherence to factual narrative is not a strong point."<ref>{{cite news|title=Present at the Creation| |
In an article by [[Matthew Scully]] (one of Bush's speechwriters) published in ''[[The Atlantic]]'' (September 2007) Gerson is criticized for seeking the limelight, taking the credit for other people's work and for creating a false image of himself: "No good deed went unreported, and many things that never happened were reported as fact. For all of our chief speechwriter's finer qualities, the firm adherence to factual narrative is not a strong point."<ref>{{cite news|title=Present at the Creation|first=Matthew|last=Scully|work=[[The Atlantic]]|date=September 1, 2007|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2007/09/present-at-the-creation/306134/?single_page=true}}</ref> Of particular note is the invention of the phrase "axis of evil." Scully claims that the phrase "axis of hatred" was coined by David Frum and forwarded to colleagues by email. The word "hatred" was changed to "evil" by someone other than Gerson and was done because "hatred" seemed the more melodramatic word at the time.<ref name="theatlantic.com">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2007/09/present-at-the-creation/306134/?single_page=true|title=Present at the Creation|last=Scully|first=Matthew|work=The Atlantic|access-date=May 29, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> |
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Scully also had this to say about Gerson: |
Scully also had this to say about Gerson: |
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<blockquote>My most vivid memory of Mike at Starbucks is one I have labored in vain to shake. We were working on a State of the Union address in John's (McConnell's) office when suddenly Mike was called away for an unspecified appointment, leaving us to 'keep going'. We learned only later, from a chance conversation with his secretary, where he had gone, and it was a piece of Washington self-promotion for the ages: At the precise moment when the State of the Union address was being drafted at the White House by John and me, Mike was off [at a Washington D.C. Starbucks store] pretending to craft the State of the Union in longhand for the benefit of a reporter.<ref name="theatlantic.com"/></blockquote> |
<blockquote>My most vivid memory of Mike at Starbucks is one I have labored in vain to shake. We were working on a State of the Union address in John's (McConnell's) office when suddenly Mike was called away for an unspecified appointment, leaving us to 'keep going'. We learned only later, from a chance conversation with his secretary, where he had gone, and it was a piece of Washington self-promotion for the ages: At the precise moment when the State of the Union address was being drafted at the White House by John and me, Mike was off [at a Washington D.C. Starbucks store] pretending to craft the State of the Union in longhand for the benefit of a reporter.<ref name="theatlantic.com" /></blockquote> |
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===''The Washington Post'' columnist=== |
===''The Washington Post'' columnist=== |
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Gerson suffered from [[major depressive disorder]]<ref>{{YouTube|id=RePCYh6LVZo|title=Political columnist Michael Gerson on coping with 'insidious' depression}} published February 19, 2019 [[PBS NewsHour]]</ref> and was hospitalized at least once due to the disease.<ref>{{cite web |title=Read Michael Gerson's Sermon Sharing His Struggle with Depression |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/read-michael-gersons-sermon-sharing-his-struggle-with-depression |website=PBS |access-date=December 26, 2021 |date=February 19, 2019}}</ref> |
Gerson suffered from [[major depressive disorder]]<ref>{{YouTube|id=RePCYh6LVZo|title=Political columnist Michael Gerson on coping with 'insidious' depression}} published February 19, 2019 [[PBS NewsHour]]</ref> and was hospitalized at least once due to the disease.<ref>{{cite web |title=Read Michael Gerson's Sermon Sharing His Struggle with Depression |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/read-michael-gersons-sermon-sharing-his-struggle-with-depression |website=PBS |access-date=December 26, 2021 |date=February 19, 2019}}</ref> |
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Gerson was diagnosed with [[kidney cancer]] in 2013.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gerson |first1=Michael |title=Michael Gerson: After cancer diagnosis, seeing mortality in the near distance |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/michael-gerson-after-cancer-diagnosis-seeing-mortality-in-the-near-distance/2013/12/05/36a79f16-5dd9-11e3-be07-006c776266ed_story.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=December 26, 2021 |date=December 5, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Gerson |first1=Michael |title=Michael Gerson: This Christmas, hope may feel elusive. But despair is not the answer. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/12/23/christmas-holiday-hope-despair-nativity-faith/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=December 26, 2021 |date=December 23, 2021}}</ref> He died from cancer at a hospital in Washington, D.C. on November 17, 2022, at the age of 58.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Murphy |first1=Brian |title=Michael Gerson, Post columnist and Bush speechwriter on 9/11, dies at 58 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/11/17/michael-gerson-speechwriter-post-dies/ |access-date=November 17, 2022 |work=Washington Post}}</ref> |
Gerson was diagnosed with [[kidney cancer]] in 2013.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gerson |first1=Michael |title=Michael Gerson: After cancer diagnosis, seeing mortality in the near distance |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/michael-gerson-after-cancer-diagnosis-seeing-mortality-in-the-near-distance/2013/12/05/36a79f16-5dd9-11e3-be07-006c776266ed_story.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=December 26, 2021 |date=December 5, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Gerson |first1=Michael |title=Michael Gerson: This Christmas, hope may feel elusive. But despair is not the answer. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/12/23/christmas-holiday-hope-despair-nativity-faith/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=December 26, 2021 |date=December 23, 2021}}</ref> He died from cancer at a hospital in Washington, D.C. on November 17, 2022, at the age of 58.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Murphy |first1=Brian |title=Michael Gerson, Post columnist and Bush speechwriter on 9/11, dies at 58 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/11/17/michael-gerson-speechwriter-post-dies/ |access-date=November 17, 2022 |work=The Washington Post}}</ref> |
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==Published works== |
==Published works== |
Revision as of 00:09, 18 November 2022
Mike Gerson | |
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![]() | |
White House Director of Speechwriting | |
In office January 20, 2001 – June 14, 2006 | |
President | George W. Bush |
Preceded by | Terry Edmonds |
Succeeded by | William McGurn |
Personal details | |
Born | Michael John Gerson May 15, 1964 Belmar, New Jersey, U.S. |
Died | November 17, 2022 Washington, D.C., U.S. | (aged 58)
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Dawn Gerson |
Children | 2 |
Bildung | Georgetown University Wheaton College, Illinois (BA) |
Michael John Gerson (May 15, 1964 – November 17, 2022) was an American journalist and speechwriter. He was an op-ed columnist for The Washington Post, a Policy Fellow with One Campaign,[1][2] a visiting fellow with the Center for Public Justice,[3] and a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.[4] He served as President George W. Bush's chief speechwriter from 2001 until June 2006, as a senior policy advisor from 2000 through June 2006, and was a member of the White House Iraq Group.[5]
Gerson helped write the inaugural address for the second inauguration of George W. Bush, which called for neo-conservative intervention and nation-building around the world to effect the spread of democracy to third world countries.[6]
In 2018, Gerson and commentator Amy Holmes co-hosted In Principle, a politically conservative-oriented television talk show that ran for eight episodes on PBS.[7][8]
Early life and education
Gerson was raised in an Evangelical Christian family[9] in St. Louis, Missouri. He attended Westminster Christian Academy for high school. His paternal grandfather was Jewish.[9] He attended Georgetown University for a year and then transferred to Wheaton College in Illinois, graduating in 1986.[10]
Career
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/89/President_George_W._Bush_reviews_his_State_of_the_Union_speech.jpg/220px-President_George_W._Bush_reviews_his_State_of_the_Union_speech.jpg)
Before joining the Bush Administration, he was a senior policy advisor with The Heritage Foundation, a conservative public policy research institution.[11] He also worked at various times as an aide to Indiana Senator Dan Coats and a speechwriter for the Presidential campaign of Bob Dole before briefly leaving the political world to cover it as a journalist for U.S. News & World Report.[12] Gerson also worked at one point as a ghostwriter for Charles Colson.[13] In early 1999, Karl Rove recruited Gerson for the Bush campaign.[14]
Gerson was named by Time as one of "The 25 Most Influential Evangelicals In America." The February 7, 2005 issue listed Gerson as the ninth most influential evangelical that year.[11]
Speechwriter
Gerson joined the Bush campaign before 2000 as a speechwriter and went on to head the White House speechwriting team. "No one doubts that he did his job exceptionally well," wrote Ramesh Ponnuru in a 2007 article otherwise very critical of Gerson in National Review. According to Ponnuru, Bush's speechwriters had more prominence in the administration than their predecessors did under previous presidents because Bush's speeches did most of the work of defending the president's policies, since administration spokesmen and press conferences did not. On the other hand, he wrote, the speeches would announce new policies that were never implemented, making the speechwriting in some ways less influential than ever.[15]
On June 14, 2006, it was announced that Gerson was leaving the White House to pursue other writing and policy work.[16] He was replaced as Bush's chief speechwriter by The Wall Street Journal chief editor William McGurn.
Lines attributed to Gerson
Gerson proposed the use of a "smoking gun/mushroom cloud" mixed-metaphor during a September 5, 2002 meeting of the White House Iraq Group, in an effort to sell the American public on the nuclear dangers posed by Saddam Hussein. According to Newsweek columnist Michael Isikoff,
The original plan had been to place it in an upcoming presidential speech, but WHIG members fancied it so much that when the Times reporters contacted the White House to talk about their upcoming piece [about aluminum tubes], one of them leaked Gerson's phrase – and the administration would soon make maximum use of it.[17]
Gerson said one of his favorite speeches was given at the National Cathedral on September 14, 2001, a few days after the September 11 attacks, which included the following passage: "Grief and tragedy and hatred are only for a time. Goodness, remembrance, and love have no end. And the Lord of life holds all who die, and all who mourn."[18]
Gerson was credited with coining such phrases as "the soft bigotry of low expectations" and "the armies of compassion".[19] His noteworthy phrases for Bush are said to include "Axis of Evil," a phrase adapted from "axis of hatred," itself suggested by fellow speechwriter David Frum but deemed too mild.[20]
Criticisms of Gerson as a speechwriter
In an article by Matthew Scully (one of Bush's speechwriters) published in The Atlantic (September 2007) Gerson is criticized for seeking the limelight, taking the credit for other people's work and for creating a false image of himself: "No good deed went unreported, and many things that never happened were reported as fact. For all of our chief speechwriter's finer qualities, the firm adherence to factual narrative is not a strong point."[21] Of particular note is the invention of the phrase "axis of evil." Scully claims that the phrase "axis of hatred" was coined by David Frum and forwarded to colleagues by email. The word "hatred" was changed to "evil" by someone other than Gerson and was done because "hatred" seemed the more melodramatic word at the time.[22]
Scully also had this to say about Gerson:
My most vivid memory of Mike at Starbucks is one I have labored in vain to shake. We were working on a State of the Union address in John's (McConnell's) office when suddenly Mike was called away for an unspecified appointment, leaving us to 'keep going'. We learned only later, from a chance conversation with his secretary, where he had gone, and it was a piece of Washington self-promotion for the ages: At the precise moment when the State of the Union address was being drafted at the White House by John and me, Mike was off [at a Washington D.C. Starbucks store] pretending to craft the State of the Union in longhand for the benefit of a reporter.[22]
The Washington Post columnist
After leaving the White House, Gerson wrote for Newsweek magazine for a time. On May 16, 2007, Gerson began his tenure as a twice-weekly columnist for The Washington Post. His columns appeared on Wednesdays and Fridays.[23]
Gerson, a neo-conservative, repeatedly criticized other conservatives in his column and conservatives returned the favor. One of Gerson's first columns was entitled "Letting Fear Rule", in which he compared skeptics of President Bush's immigration reform bill to nativist bigots of the 1880s.[24]
In October 2017, Gerson referred to President Trump's "fundamental unfitness for high office" and asked whether he is "psychologically and morally equipped to be president? And could his unfitness cause permanent damage to the country?" He cited "the leaked cries for help coming from within the administration. They reveal a president raging against enemies, obsessed by slights, deeply uninformed and incurious, unable to focus, and subject to destructive whims".[25]
In August 2019, Gerson wrote that it is a "scandal" that "white evangelical Protestants" are not in a state of "panic" about their own demographic decline in the United States.[26]
Personal life
His wife Dawn was born in South Korea. She was adopted by an American family when she was six years old and raised in the Midwestern United States. The couple, who met in high school, have two sons and resided in Northern Virginia.[27][28][29]
Health and death
Gerson suffered from major depressive disorder[30] and was hospitalized at least once due to the disease.[31]
Gerson was diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2013.[32][33] He died from cancer at a hospital in Washington, D.C. on November 17, 2022, at the age of 58.[34]
Published works
- Heroic Conservatism: Why Republicans Need to Embrace America's Ideals (And Why They Deserve to Fail If They Don't). HarperOne. 2007. ISBN 978-0-06-134950-8.
- City of Man: Religion and Politics in a New Era. Moody. 2010. ISBN 978-0-8024-5857-5. (with Peter Wehner)
References
- ^ Pulliam Bailey, Sarah (November 10, 2010). "Faithfully and Politically Present". Christianity Today. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
- ^ "ONE Welcomes the Washington Post's Michael Gerson". Retrieved July 4, 2011.
- ^ "Michael J. Gerson, Visiting Fellow". Retrieved September 22, 2012.
- ^ Naomi Schaefer Riley (October 21, 2006). "Mr. Compassionate Conservatism". The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ Isikoff, Michael; David Corn (September 8, 2006). Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War. New York: Crown Publishers. ISBN 0-307-34681-1.
- ^ "The Believer". The New Yorker. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
- ^ "PBS launching new conservative political talk show". The Seattle Times. February 28, 2018. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
- ^ "In Principle: Season 1 Episodes". PBS.org.
- ^ a b New Yorker Magazine: "Letter From Washington: The Believer - George W. Bush’s loyal speechwriter" by Jeffrey Goldberg Archived January 19, 2017, at the Wayback Machine February 13, 2006 | "Gerson, whose parents were evangelical Christians (his last name comes from a Jewish grandfather)"
- ^ "About Wheaton". Wheaton College. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
- ^ a b "The 25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America". Time. February 7, 2005. Archived from the original on February 3, 2005.
- ^ Gerson, Michael (January 7, 2007). "Q&A with Michael Gerson". Q&A (Interview). Interviewed by Brian Lamb. C-SPAN.
- ^ Scully, Matthew, "Present at the Creation," The Atlantic, September 2007, p. 76
- ^ "Barack Obama is 'extraordinary talent', says Michael Gerson". The Sunday Times (UK), March 26, 2008.
- ^ Ponnuru, Ramesh, "Gerson's World: The president's chief speechwriter turns columnist," article in National Review, July 30, 2007
- ^ "Longtime Bush Speechwriter Leaving White House". The New York Times. Associated Press. June 14, 2006.
- ^ Hubris, p. 35
- ^ Rutenberg, Jim (June 15, 2006). "Adviser Who Shaped Bush's Speeches Is Leaving". The New York Times.
- ^ "Leading Bush Speechwriter Resigns". Fox News. June 15, 2006. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
- ^ Noah, Timothy (January 9, 2003). ""Axis of Evil" Authorship Settled!". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
- ^ Scully, Matthew (September 1, 2007). "Present at the Creation". The Atlantic.
- ^ a b Scully, Matthew. "Present at the Creation". The Atlantic. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
- ^ Gerson, Michael (May 16, 2007). "Missionaries in Northern Virginia". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
- ^ Gerson, Michael (May 25, 2007). "Letting Fear Rule". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
- ^ Gerson, Michael (October 12, 2017). "Republicans, it's time to panic". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 13, 2010.
- ^ Gerson, Michael (August 29, 2019). "Why white evangelicals should panic". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
- ^ Gerson, Michael (April 27, 2010). "International adoption: From a broken bond to an instant bond". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
- ^ United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (2018). "Speakers: Michael J. Gerson". Retrieved November 27, 2018.
- ^ Chen, Edwin (September 22, 2001). "Helping Bush Sound Presidential". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
- ^ Political columnist Michael Gerson on coping with 'insidious' depression on YouTube published February 19, 2019 PBS NewsHour
- ^ "Read Michael Gerson's Sermon Sharing His Struggle with Depression". PBS. February 19, 2019. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
- ^ Gerson, Michael (December 5, 2013). "Michael Gerson: After cancer diagnosis, seeing mortality in the near distance". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
- ^ Gerson, Michael (December 23, 2021). "Michael Gerson: This Christmas, hope may feel elusive. But despair is not the answer". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
- ^ Murphy, Brian. "Michael Gerson, Post columnist and Bush speechwriter on 9/11, dies at 58". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
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