David Gergen
David Gergen is probably the only person to have served at high levels in both the Reagan and Clinton White Houses--not to mention his posts in the Nixon and Ford administrations. He's a consummate Washington insider, a man who appears regularly as a centrist political commentator on PBS's
NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and works as editor at large for
U.S. News & World Report.
Eyewitness to Power, his first book, draws upon this unique experience. It's part memoir, part political history, part portrait of White House culture, but it's mostly a meditation on what it takes to be a great political leader. Gergen focuses on the four presidents he has known best--Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton--and offers pointed assessments of each. He calls Reagan "the best leader in the White House since Franklin Roosevelt," and says Clinton "is one of the smartest men ever elected president and has done some of the dumbest things." Gergen does not hesitate to offer harsh criticism: Nixon was hateful, Ford was overwhelmed by his predecessor's scandals, Reagan was often detached, and Clinton was not in control of his appetites. Yet there's a reflective admiration for each man.
What makes this volume rise above the mountain of books on leadership (usually written for executives) is its spot-on observations about the way Washington works, drawn from years of experience: "Republicans like hierarchy and order; they're not like Democrats, as I saw later on, who thrive on chaos and creativity"; the Nixon view of Watergate "was the same as the Victorians had of adultery: the sin was not in the doing of it but in getting caught"; "In most institutions, the power of a leader grows over time. A CEO, a university president, the head of a union, acquire stature through the quality of their long-term performance. The presidency is just the opposite: power tends to evaporate quickly."
Gergen concludes by describing the seven leadership qualities a great president must have: personal integrity, a sense of mission, the ability to persuade, the ability to work with other politicians, a strong start after inauguration, skilled advisers, and the ability to inspire. Those traits, of course, will serve people well from all walks of life--and Eyewitness to Power will appeal not just to readers interested in the presidency but to anyone occupying a position of responsibility (or interested in getting there). --John J. Miller
1 A rare perspective that demands a hearing
This book really helped coalesce in my mind that sometimes it's not the party, it's the man. By serving Presidents from both parties, Gergen forces Republican and Democratic readers to set aside their party loyalty to confront the reality that both parties have had recent Presidential successes and failures.
For example, I was a proud Reagan youth who didn't vote for Clinton in 1992 However, by 1996 I had to admit that Clinton was doing an excellent job of leading the country in spite of my party's obstructionist activities that only hurt the country. Gergen explains how Clinton was able to overcome and succeed in spite of opponents intent on political destruction rather than serving their country.
Gergen also provides excellent examples of what many of us realized by 1984 about Reagan, that while his rhetoric mainly appealed to the conservative right, Reagan was truly a President to all Americans and governed from the middle.
If are you interested in presidential politics and care more about the country than you do about your party, this is a great case study. If you are a senior manager responsible for large numbers of people, this book is also an excellent manual on managerial success using your own style and approach. If you are looking for ammunition to do battle against ideological opponents, this is not the book for you.
2 A quick and engaging read
If you want to stay away, or need a break from, the (sometimes) fun but predictable polemics about the state of our state, Gergen is your man. I have often enjoyed his comments on television and his editorials. He always speaks with authority, respect, and perspective; and thus, he stands out. You'll see no "gotcha" moments in this book, and his prose is simple and engaging.
This is not really a history book, nor does it have much discussion of policy, but Gergen states this from the get-go. Rather, he sets out to look at 4 presidents at various moments when they are at their best in their leadership role, and when they fall short in this role. I found the chapters on Nixon and Clinton the most interesting. I suppose this could be due to the fact that they had the more complicated times in office, and they are seemingly more complex individuals than Reagan or Ford. Ironically, the chapter on President Reagan, from whom Gergen learned "the most about about about leadership", was the least interesting. His discussion about Reagan's communication ability wasn't as lively or fresh as other parts of the book.
I think the most interesting thing about thing about this book was the way in which various aspects of one administration affect other, seemingly unconnected, aspects. How one's initial organization, one's staff, one's personal relationships and maturity, and even the simple need for sleep can effect political effectiveness and policy itself. This is essetially the purpose and content of the book.
Further, he can cast a brief, but interesting light on the cast surrounding the Presisdent. In discussing Al Haig and his misstep after Reagan, Gergen reminds readers of Haig's admirable role after watergate yet he refrains from letting Haig of the hook for his mistake, a wonderful example of Gergen's persective.
Gergen also treats the Lewinsky scandal gracefully. He refuses to dip into tabloid journalism or fake outrage, but he convincingly showes how the incident effected Clinton's Presidency, and how it was more than merely a silly sex act.
I hope Gergen writes more, and recommend this book.
3 An Unexpected Pleasure
Eyewitness to Power was an unexpected pleasure. I have watched Gergen as a pundit for years and thought that he, while articulate, was a little too milktoast for me. I picked up this book on a lark, and once I began to read it, never set it down.
I have read countless business books on leadership in business. Most, if not all, paint the picture of the perfect unerring leader. Gergen, on the other hand, writes about what he observed - the strengths and the warts of those he served while in the White House. As a result, he has written what has become my favorite book on leadership.
Leaders come in different shapes and sizes, with different skills and experiences. And Gergen shows how each of these Presidents used their unique skills and experience to lead. Some better than others.
This is a book that should be a must read in all MBA programs as it tells the story of real leadership and not some fictional, unattainable ideal.
4 Great book to help understand what makes a leader.
After giving a first hand account of four U.S. Presidents (Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton), David Gergen provides qualities which make a good leader. This, however, though it is the conclusion of the book, isn't the most beneficial part of the book. By giving in depth accounts of four different presidencies you see how one President runs the country so much different form another. Also it gives the analysis of events from a point of view that is very uncommon. It really makes it so you can begin to know the real men who served in the oval office, not the man that the media portrayed. Sure, Gergen has his biases, but if you can look through them, you can get an amazing picture of the some of the more recent Presidents.
5 Though Shaded Glasses At Times
I found this book to be very well written and thought out. The author, who could have really cashed in on the book by spelling out even warmed over gossip and tall tails did not. He took the high road and tried to dissect the leadership characteristics of the four Presidents he worked for. He also added some interesting insights from his own work and I always wanted more of his experiences. I found that I enjoyed the sections on Nixon and Clinton the most. He was as complimentary as he was negative, depending on the topic. I found his views were very balanced and based on definable facts, not just off the cuff comments. To be fair in this review, the section on Ford was much like the Ford Presidency, everything interesting had to do with Nixon.
If I had one issue with the book it was that the author did seem to go easy on Reagan. The author holds Reagan in very high esteem and that comes through on the writing. It is a good thing Reagan never went swimming or this author would have had to detail a walking on the water episode. The reason I was disappointed was that for the other three Presidents, the authors sharp eye cut through the fluff and got right to the mistakes, weaknesses and strengths. I would like the author to come out with a memoir of his time but maybe he is waiting for the next President to call him up for duty before he pens it. Overall the book was good, interesting and easy to read.
6 Insightful and Interesting
In the days of tell all books written for a quick buck, Gergan's work is not only impressive but also refreshing. Gergan leaves the dirty little secrets writing to others while he shares his experiences severing four different Presidents.
He focuses a lot not only on the personality of the presidents but also their management style. He also takes into account the factors that influenced each administration.
Eyewitness to power mixes together part of Gergan's autobiography, presidential history, and lesson on management.
If your interested in the inner workings of White House, stop watching television shows and read Gergans work for true insight on how four different Presidents operated their White House staffs.
7 Eyewitness
David Gergen has never played a huge part in the administration of a president, but he has been involved in several, and has emerged from his experiences as the consummate Washington insider. He first came on board with Nixon, where he worked in the speechwriting department, eventually running it during the `Final Days' of the Nixon White House. He then worked for Ford, Reagan, and Clinton. He has numerous insights into the men he worked for, particularly Nixon. His analysis of Ford is also good, giving insight to man few care for. Not completely free of bias, he hero worships Reagan and gives faint praise to Clinton. This book is hardly the definitive work on the Nixon to Clinton era, but it has great insight and great stories from a man who has definitely been around some leaders in his time.
8 Eyewitness to Power
David Gergen exhibits his keen intuitive grasp of the obvious with his superficial observations of presidential politics. He claims to reveal lesssons on leadership, but instead delivers an old fuddy-duddy's point of view on the machinations of the Washington DC establishment. There are no real lessons here--just a boring set of shallow, self-important observations by a person who was near power, but weilded none. Don't waste your time or money.
9 A Good, "Objective" View of Politics By Someone Who Knows
If you're sick of partisan slag and want a good panorama of what it takes to be a leader in this country, as well as a truly honest analysis of several in the past few decades - from a man who's worked with them (and across both parties) - get this book. Give it to your kids. Assign it in school. Give it to the disgusting partisan blowhards that constantly give you heartburn.
10 Fascinating
Undoubtedly, David Gergen has a unique perspective. Very few men in history have been privy to the private world of Chief Executives as disparate as Clinton and Reagan. Gergen took the opportunity this situation presented him with and turned it into a thoroughly engrossing book. His observations are keen. There is something of the "tell-all" to this book but it is by no means a tabloid. Gergen provides thoughtful analysis of the administrations he served under, as well as new information. I was given this book as a gift and read it in a matter of hours. I was sorry to finish it. The book promises an eyewitness account and it delivers. Having read this it is easier to understand why some presidencies failed and others succeeded.
11 Eyewitness to Power: the Essence of Leadership, Nixon to Cli
This book examines four Presidents: Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton. Gergen looks at the highs and lows of each president. This is not the typical airing of dirty laundry, but a serious examination of the faults and attributes of each president. For example many historians and talking heads can only discuss the watergate incident with regards to Nixon's presidency, yet he opened China and and set up the EPA. He is one of the few presidents to view foreign policy like the British "Now matter whether we like the regime we will have to deal with them." This attitude could only have come from an anticommunist politican in America. At the same time Gergen does not excuse Nixon's faults or any other president. He addresses Clinton in the same way. Ford and Reagan are lucky not to spark such emotions that Nixon and Clinton do. This is a fair book that has some real lessons on the role of leadership and the president. This is a classic along with: On War by Von Clausewitz, The Discourses and The Prince by Machiavelli, How to be a Minister by Gerald Kaufman, and How to be a Civil Servant by Martin Stanley.
12 Both a humane and critical perspective of our leaders
David Gergen has written an excellent, interesting, amusing (at times) and informative text on the leadership styles of several of America's most recent Presidents.
This is not an assemblage of quotes or elements of the views of others. This is his direct, personal and integrated discussions with Nixon, Ford, Regan and Clinton. His content and style demonstrate an wonderful blend of analytical insight and the humane strengths/weaknesses of those he witnessed.
This is a great 'personal read' but should also be on every CEO's desk and those who are students of history and leadership.
13 A Bird's Eye View of the Presidency
David Gergen has written a very worthwhile book even if his conclusions are not very original (in the introduction, Gergen admits this himself). The New Republic has called Gergen the guardian of Washington's conventional wisdom (and they meant it as a compliment). Eyewitness to Power is in keeping with this fine tradition, and doesn't stray much beyond it.
Essentially, Gergen offers his inside assessment of the four Presidents he has served -- Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton. His account of the Nixon years is very balanced, but the most distant of all: as a mid-level staffer in an Administration that limited access to the Oval Office, Gergen could only get so close. Nonetheless, his informed speculation about both the grandiose aspirations and the dark side of Richard Nixon is enlightening and poignant. How could a man who accomplished so much feel so insecure as to pursue that catastrophic a course of action against his political opponents? We will never know, but Gergen lays out the evidence nicely.
The Reagan section is really the only place where Gergen can be faulted for not including more reflections on his day-to-day experiences. As a former top aide in the Reagan White House, one would expect more in the way of such recollections. For the most part, though, Gergen spends his time synthesizing others' accounts of Reagan, and fortunately, he does an excellent job of it. Though perhaps not his primary purpose in this book, Gergen proves his worth as an historian.
Only during the Clinton years do we get any sort of "kiss-and-tell" accounts. Beyond the titilating forebodings of Monica, Gergen does give the serious reader useful revelations on the early Clinton White House: how Clinton's flawed transition hobbled his ability to govern, how the youthful Arkansas Governor viewed the '92 campaign as a practice run for 1996, how Clinton had never expected to win early on, and how this hurt him when he got to the White House. Because the Clinton section is so short on the historical inquiry that dominate the book's earlier sections, Eyewitness to Power is a somewhat skizophrenic -- but still valuable -- work.
14 A room with a view
Too often for my tastes, knowledge about politics or officials - for most - comes in the form of media soundbites. My appreciation for material and experiences as described by Gergen is second to none, and we could certainly use more fair-minded and balanced assessments such as those he provided about the Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton administrations in which he served.
Gergen succeeded in detailing the weaknesses and strengths of each president, the nuances of working with cabinet and staff towards implementing policy, and the sometimes harrowing walk between principle and what is "effective".
Read it, and add to the wave of those who really care about how the world and nation's leaders get it done.
15 The Fly on the Wall
David Gergen was not exactly a fly on the wall. He was more involved with the four presidents he served than that. But he had a front row seat in four White Houses, giving him a unique perspective that he almost is obliged to share for history's sake. Unfortunately, history must wait longer for his memoirs. Fortunately, EYEWITNESS TO POWER is an enjoyable and useful book on presidential management with practical implications for readers involved with less grand management schemes.
EYEWITNESS TO POWER is ostensibly about presidential leadership, but there is a distinction between leadership and management, and this is really more a book about management with some anecdotes added from Gergen's well of stories. This is not meant in any way to disparage the book - Gergen's observations about how four presidents ran their shop is valuable and engrossing. I found that some of his observations could be generalized and used as lessons in other management settings. Gergen does not, however, delve too deeply in how the presidents helped bring the country along where it wouldn't necessarily have gone without their leadership, drew attention to tough issues, or inspired the people to address adaptive challenges. Sure, Gergen touches on Nixon's trip to China, and he explores Ford's pardoning of Nixon, but he really dissects the Nixon/Haldeman strong chief of staff style of management, and the evolution of Ford's "spokes of the wheel" style into something more workable.
Gergen seems more emotional when writing about Reagan and Clinton. His admiration for Reagan is so strong as to leave his assessment of the Reagan White House highly unbalanced. Meanwhile, his deep disappointment in Clinton renders his attempt at balance an exercise of damnation via faint praise (coupled with unambiguous damnation, too). Gergen's account of the Ford administration, in contrast, is most fair. Since he seemed to be in the dark about much of what was going on in the Nixon White House, his treatment of Ford is really the best in the book.
EYEWITNESS TO POWER is a short book and I was left wanting more. More stories, more observations, and more about the actual leadership of these presidents (or, perhaps an acknowledgment that they didn't practice leadership much at all). But this sense of wanting more is not hollow- I liked what I got with this book and simply hope that there's a sequel.
16 Decent read, but could be much better...
Uneven...Most people (based on the reviews I've read) seem to like this book and it's not bad, but I found myself liking the parts that just told the story of that particular administration and wanting Gergen to continue to tell the inside story of the Presidents that he served, not an analysis of "leadership" from a person that doesn't really seem qualified to make that assesment. This book was interesting to me only when history was being re-counted by this administration insider with the psycho-analysis of Presidents like Nixon and Clinton better presented elsewhere (Haldeman's "Ends of Power" for Nixon or Stephanopolous's "All too Human" for Clinton). Read it for the history and not for a "leadership" analysis.
17 Excellent Analysis of Leadership
This book is an incredible book about leadership. Gergen; who was in the Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton administrations; writes about leadership as an insider. This is not a memoir, a book about dirt, or a biography of any sort. Gergen looks at the qualities of each President and shows how they exemplified leadership. His analysis is first-rate and he weaves examples that shows both the positive and negatives of leadership seamlessly. I do not agree with his politics, but this is a well-written book and well worth buying!
18 Gergen rates the executives
Gergen avoids the usual trap of writing memoirs that pump up the writer while trashing contemporaries. Instead, he provides a useful analysis of the different leadership styles of recent presidents. Political professionals will be reading this book for a long time, particularly when it comes time to plan the look and method of administrations to come.
19 Excellent observations and keen analysis
Gergen is a communications pro turned academic and that shows in this book. On top of that he has been part of four administrations and is therefore in an excellent position to write about what makes a political leader succesful.
The difference between a Presidency and a CEO position in a large company are quite substantial. A CEO, when he takes over, normally finds a structure, manned with people with experience, in place. On top of that, he answers to a Board which shares, in general, the goals and objectives the CEO has.
Not so much for a President; when a new man comes in he has to change the whole team and find himself, more often than not, with a constituancy in the Senate and Congress where his own party only holds a minority. A daunting task!
Gergen's observations how four Presidents handled this task are very keen and his analysis is profound. He shows clearly that a high intellect and a drive to achieve may be helpful but in no way guarantees succes. Think about Clinton and his ( or her) handling of the health care issue.
Gergen establishes clearly that a good organization and command structure is key. In particular in the transition period where the Presidency takes shape. This takes him to an admiring view on President Reagan and, whatever you think about his politics, I think that is deserved. In contrast, the preparation of Clinton was so poor, with many key appointments left open for months, that it has haunted him throughout his first term
Secondly, Gergen demonstrates the need for a good balance in the team. They do not all have to agree all the time, a certain amount of tension helps to improve the decision, but clear procedures to resolve conflict and organization in decision taking is key. Again he quotes President Reagan with Baker, Meese and Deaver as achieving this optimally and others like Nixon through Haldeman and Ehrlichman, and Clinton in a quite chaotic three people leadershp structure ( Mr and Mrs and the VP as the top box) failling.
Thirdly, he sees the key in Presidential success in the relationship between the White House on the one hand and Congress/Senate on the other. This means that every team needs to have a number of players that are well experienced in dealing with the House. He made it with quite a few examples clear where Presidents Clinton and Nixon where falling short in this respect.
Finally, he dwells, quite justified, on the character of the President as a key element for success. Those at ease with themselves and a clear vision on what they want to achieve ( like Reagan) have a much better chance on success than those with flaws like Nixon and Clinton. It is not a guarantee, as he describes in the case of Gerald Ford, but it certainly helps.
All these analyses makes the book a very good read. Gergen's sober and reflective observations of the process and the people involved, without being tempted to throw in "juicy details", makes this an excellent work.
20 A Yellow Dog Salutes a Republican
David Gergen is a Democrat's kind of Republican. Fair, generous, and wonderfully interesting. He has a lifetime of experiences that any political junkie would envy. The book (as I told him last night after a speech at Vanderbilt)has softened me on Ronald Reagan and given me a more balanced view of Bill Clinton. The book has much insight into the four Presidents, their weaknesses and strengths. Gergen is the voice of reason in the insane world of politics. Democrat or Republican - don't miss reading this book!
21 Leadership Secrets from the Inside
Being a cultural conservative, I sometimes find myself at odds with David Gergen. I was particularly dismayed when he decided to join the Clinton White House. That being said, Gergen has penned a classic book on leadership. If your looking for dirt and sleeze in the White House, this is not the book for you. However, for those of us interested in learning what makes successful men successful, this is great read.
Gergen writes from a balanced viewpoint and clearly has no political axe to grind. He treats each man fairly, carefully examining the good and bad in each leader, from Nixon to Clinton.
With Nixon, he portrays a man he hoped would use his leadership for good, but who fell woefully short because of his dark side. With Clinton, he portrays a man who could have done the country much good, but never controls his self-indulging urges for sex, money, and power.
I can't say I agree with every point of his assessments of our modern leaders, but I'd be hard-pressed to find a better analysis of them. Kudos to Gergen for sharing the inside secrets of powerful men without shovefuls of unnecessary dirt. He's also to be commended for his likeable style. After reading "Eyewitness to Power", I find a man who desires every one to succeed and a man with very few enemies.
22 Stay-at-home mom and political junkie loved this book
Ok, I admit it--I watched FOX News constantly throughout the election crisis. And MSNBC once in a while--when I could stomach the elite media's liberal bias. Please--us regular people just want someone to be reasonable and tell us the truth! Someone who can switch sides once in a while to just do what is right! Someone who isn't a lapdog (see George Stephanopolous)! And we finally found him: David Gergen! Fabulous book. Got it for Christmas and took New Year's Day off to read it all the way through--a minor miracle in this household. Buy it and you won't be disappointed. Keep it on your bookshelf and read it again every 10 years--it'll be a wonderful history book in a few decades.
23 Zen view of less-than-Zen people
I came away from this book being informed about the characters, but being most impressed by Gergen's demeanor. The book clarifies a number of misconceptions, esp. about Nixon, Reagan and Clinton not by turning black to white, but by painting them the right shade of grey. I am glad to see Nixon's Jekyll side separated from his Hyde. It is gratifying to see someone acknowledge Clinton's almost unprecedented intellect, while not being shrill about the moral issues we already know about. The almost "bulletized" analysis was sometimes a bit dry, and so was Gergen's even (quiet flows the don) style of reporting. That said, the book was a very enjoyable read.
24 Gergen good, jargon bad.
This is a well-written piece by a brilliant author but Gergen needs to trim back on the political jargon which seems to have infiltrated this book so thoroughly. Gergen is the quitessential Washington insider: appearing regularly as a political commentator on PBS's NewsHour and works as editor for U.S. News & World Report. His first book, Eyewitness to Power, drew upon this unique experience. It's part memoir, part political history, part portrait of White House culture, but it's mostly a meditation on what it takes to be a great political leader. Gergen focuses on the four presidents he has known best--Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton--and offers pointed assessments of each. Really, really good writing but please Mr. Gergen, for your next tome, gear it more towards the Washington outsider, you'll definately get my respect!!
25 Unique account
A unique account of the leadership styles of the immediate past US presidents. Well written, concise, to the point, it makes pertinent reading and a useful text in historical terms, but also as a prescription for future US presidents
26 A Superb Examination Of The Modern Presidency
I read this book quite quickly and with ease. Despite the serious issues, which Gergen sets out to examine, It is done with great style and with an eye to the less politically attuned. The first thing you grasp is the sheer length of time he has spent at the highest levels of the American Government and during the most difficult times like Watergate and the attempted assassination of President Reagan. He examines in detail many of the characteristics, which determined the success or failure of all the Presidents since Nixon. He looks at their personality their intelligence, their management of the White House as well as their relationship to the congress in terms of achieving policy positions adopted during their terms. He looks at the issue of integrity versus intelligence particularly in his examination of the Clinton years at the White House. Once you read the book you will clearly see that his favorite presidents are men who possess the integrity which give the office its prestige and stature. This is not to say that he is judgmental about Presidents who have fallen short of the mark he gives the reader the assessment and allows you to draw a different conclusion as to the reasons and circumstances surrounding a poor judgement call by a chief executive. I cannot recommend this book highly enough to people both in politics and citizens who want a greater quality in terms of national leadership both in the United States and around the world.
27 An un-biased manual for Political power
Gergen's inside knowlegde and centrist political position make him the perfect canidate for writing a book about the strenghts and foibles of our recent presidents. He outlines where each administration went wrong while managing to cast a positive light on each man. Even the scandal driven presidencies of Nixon and Clinton seem semi-victorious. The Nixon presidency is truly and enigma to all who study. Nixon was a brilliant and complex man. He was possibly the best student of history in recent presidential. He knew how to apply the historical lessons of the past and use them advantageously.Unfortunately he overapplied his historical knowledge to situation where no parallel existed. He was a bold president who was not driven by public polling. Yet his paranoi of the media destroyed him.He felt the press was "the enemy" and he waged war with them. Immediate Disclosure of the Watergate Incident would have prevented it from escalating to the level it did. If he had trusted the people around him Nixon would have been able to avoid the caustic review Nixon has received thus far. Ford had no chance. He wanted to do the right thing immediately by pardoning Nixon and by doing so put his head in a noose. He had good people and honesty, but the conditions were against him terribly. Carter wasn't mentioned but he was dumb and he blew it. Reagan in my opinion is the model future presidents should attempt to emulate. He himseld had a good model in FDR. He did a good job of capitalizing on the mistakes of the mistakes of Carter to win. He was a man who ultimately treated all American with respect. He used the medium of Television to communicate his vision to the country. He began with economic vision and that kept his popularity alive. The people also respected his boldness. He survived the attempt of an assassin with dignity. Then he stood up to air traffic controllers when they attempted to strike. He was bold with the soviets and ended the cold war successfully. Gergen did something I never thought I would do. See a good side to President Clinton. But first Clinton had some big problems. He allowed his wife to play too big of a role in his presidency. The people elected him president not her. He also made a fatal mistake in bringing too many rookies in to run the white house. His "nail in the coffin" was never learning too work with the opposition effectively. He never was able to unite with the congressional republicans. He amazing balanced the budget. He was able to cut spending and build a surplus by making tough decisions. He also stood up to his party by getting Nafta thru. He simply couldn't contol those teenage hormones. He ruined his character and crippled his presidency. Even worse his crippled the office of president. The public now distrust the president even more. Great book on these amazing men.
28 Great Book With Keen Insight!
EYEWITNESS TO POWER is an excellent book on several levels.
One, David Gergen is obviously a pro who has, "been there, done that," and has some truly fascinating insights into the daily workings of the White House under Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton. I was most taken with his fair treatment of all of these leaders.He tells many tales of the men - warts and all. Gergen offers praise that might surprise you at times and gets tough at times on presidents he clearly admired.
Two, Gergen does a remarkable job of describing the Nixon White House - before, during and after Watergate. He has plenty bad to say about the demons that haunted Nixon and the hurt it did our country. However, he also looks at Nixon in a balanced perspective that stresses the intellect of the former president and his truly amazing abilities in the international arena. It is during Gergen's look at the Nixon presidency that we see the highs and lows all equally presented and Gergen telling it as he saw it. It is clear he had a great respect for Nixon's strategic mind. At the same time, he gives us an intriguing look at Nixon's personality that foretold his downfall.
Three, This is a book about leadership. EYEWITNESS TO POWER should be read by all of those in positions of leadership - whether in the public sector, private enterprise or running a local organization. He focuses on the leadership abilities of all four of these men and has some very astute observations that will benefit men and women to become better and more effective leaders.
Four, Gergen comes from the communications field. This brings a superb look at these presidents from the perspective of a speechwriter and offers much help to those starting out in public relations and/or journalism.
Finally, Gergen, as a Republican, had an interesting tenure with President Clinton that is described with wit and with a sense of disappointment with what might have been. He is clear about his respect for Bill Clinton's political mind and calls him one of our brightest presidents. On the other hand, he saw a president not quite grown up and "settled down" (no further explanation necessary). However, the bottom line on Bill Clinton is he thinks he is a good man who has a few character flaws that prevented him from being a possibly great president. This portion of the book is very fair and balanced from a lifelong Republican political operative.
I can highly recommend EYEWITNESS TO POWER, not just for political or history junkies, but for anyone who is looking to lead a company, an organization, or maybe even a nation! Gergen, with great insight - gives us a great read.
29 adulation for a retired actor
The book is fun to read and gives a feel for the byzantine workings of the White House. The politics of being President seem only slightly more arduous than those of being effective in the competitive environment of the White House. The book has the feel of a objective analysis but really is a testimonial to Ronald Reagan, the author's idol who with his quips and organizing competence made the Presidency work and made the people happy. In contrast, Carter and Clinton fall to the bottom of the bag- the former because of his misreading of the Presidency and its imperial function, and Clinton by permitting his wife to have so much power. All in all, the book is well worth the price and the time, is well written, and provides some peeks into areas most of us would never see.
30 A good read
I disagree with the reviewers who are, apparently, too sophisticated to recognize insight, or else dismiss the book as "Beltway blather." We regular folks are much less fussy. I do not have access to inside information so it's fun to read about the details from someone who does.
I part company with Gergen only on the matter of the "fine, upstanding men" (Chapin, Krogh, et al) he describes in the Nixon Watergate White House. He makes them out as victims! He asserts that they never would have gotten into trouble if it had not been for the "atmosphere of intimidation" from the top. Sorry, Mr. Gergen. They went to jail not because of their dirty tricks in the White House but because of perjury. Perhaps, indeed, they thought that this is "the way the game is played" when it came to the dirty tricks. But by the time they were testifying in federal court, the games were over. These were well-educated adults. They most certainly knew what perjury was. No victims here; no sympathy either.
31 Tries to Answer the Question of What a Good President Is
I read this book knowing that Gergen had worked (mostly in the communications area) with four presidents -- Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton. He has always impressed as a intelligent, fair-minded commentator on the political scene who is not overtly partisan, always a good thing in a commentator. This book helped maintained the tradition, in that it gavce what I though were very fair portraits of the presidents Gerger worked with -- sometime admiring, sometimes not.
The book has a number of strengths. Part of is political history, part biography. You a get sense from reading the books of what the times were in which each president served and what the public expected and got from them. He is quite frank in discussing what the strengths and weaknesses of the presidents were (with some side reflections on Carter and Bush) and tries to sort out why some presidents are successful and others not. I found most of his appraisals (one at a time and then in summary) both well-articualted and generally convincing.
I know one reviewer here says Gergen namedrops -- I don't think he does. He is mostly telling an "I was there" story and then giving his sense of what it all meant. He is in no way aggrandizing or trying to clain an unreasoable role for himself.
For me, the best part of the books was discussion of what makes a president effective (admittedly something that changes with time). It seems to a mix of character, ability to connect with people, and in terms of leadership, the ability to focus on a few issues (esepcially early in a term) and to build consensus in the country. These are good lessons (told well) that I hope our next president understands.
My one hope on this book is that Gergen revisits it or at least fills us in some forum us on how the new president is doing. The book is a nice mix of history and an interpretation of presidential leadership.
32 An excellent account the last 30 years in US Presidencies
I found this book very informative for three reasons:
a) Mr. Gergen is an insider to American Presidencies for the last 30 years. His writing is skillful (as a former speechwriter it is no surprise) and he is a very good observer putting the day-to-day activities of a White House into a larger perspective.
b) Mr. Gergen is exceptionally fair. He tries (from my point of view successfully) to give a fair account of the strengths and weaknesses of the presidents from Nixon to Clinton without going black and white. He is often very critical without ever going negative.
c) I think this book is a must for everybody in charge of running larger (profit or nonprofit) organizations. He points out what makes an Organization or a CEO successful - or not.
33 Disappointing
Gergen's book is awash with name-dropping, inside baseball, and self-serving reminders of his proximity to power and his influence,,,although the evidence of whether any of the truly powerful accepted his advice or were influenced by him in any meaningful way is scanty. In my judgment, it has been his willingness to pander which has made him a "bi-partisan" figure, rather than true intellect or political savvy (a la Moynihan).I find the book to be the same as the man,,,narcissistic and full of self-promotion. There are much better views inside Washinton.
34 A unique perspective on the White House
Many people have written insider memoirs of the White House. Gergen's is different primarily because he draws interesting contrasts among the different administrations (and different political parties) for which he worked. The book is at its best when Gergen steps into the background: his career, while often impressive, is not especially interesting, and he doesn't have terribly profound insights into himself. When making observations about Reagan and (especially) Clinton, however, he's at his best.
35 Still Searching for the Essence of Presidential Leadership
In the preface to this meditation on presidential substance and style, Author David Gergen makes one of the great understatements of our time: "I do not promise that these thought will be strikingly original." As Gergen predicts, this book shows little imagination, and he could just as easily have written that he is, in fact, presenting an extended exercise in the conventional wisdom. Nevertheless, Gergen worked for Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton, as well as on President Bush's campaign, and with President Carter after he left office. As a result, Gergen has had the opportunity to know every chief executive of the United States since1969, and he must have some insights into the essential elements of presidential leadership. At least that is what I expected.
What I am about to do is a bit unfair because I am taking Gergen's words out of context, but here are a few examples of Gergen's less-than-incisive observations: "Like so much else in the Nixon operation, the zeal to win, to control every detail, to make the trains run on time, went completely overboard;" "Jerry Ford had a mind of his own about what he wanted;" "There was a continual jockeying for power and for Reagan's ear;" and "Clinton had slipped on one banana peel after another." Gergen is one of the current crop of journalists who have raised political punditry to an art form. He is not Walter Lippmann, but neither is Gergen, a graduate of Harvard Law School, an ink-stained wretch or a hack. And that is why I expected more from him.
Why does this book fail to provide depth of insight? This is what I suspect happened: The publisher, and perhaps Gergen himself, wanted to get it into print during the 2000 campaign. The text covers a lot of ground, and given the self-imposed deadline pressure, there simply was not time for judicious rewriting and careful editing. As a result, a lot of the prose is flabby, and there is at least one embarrassing gaffe, when Gergen refers to "Mr. Chips goes to Washington." (Film enthusiasts certainly will recognize "Mr. Chips" as the much-beloved English schoolteacher, while "Mr. Smith" was the unsophisticated senator.) Nevertheless, I believe that this is a good book which has the potential for greatness. For instance, about midway through the book, Gergen writes: "At the heart of leadership is the leader's relationship with followers." That may border on triteness, but I believe it is an important concept. If Gergen had carefully examined the leader-follower relationship for each of the presidents he studies, we might have gained real insight into how the public decides who will lead and then how the president goes about leading. Instead, too much of this book is devoted to inside-the-Beltway blather. The descriptive chapters of this book are, therefore, somewhat disappointing. The final chapter, entitled "Seven Lessons of Leadership," is prescriptive but also less than persuasive. For instance, Gergen asserts that "integrity is the most important [personal attribute] for a president." That may be a valuable principle for a civics class, but I submit that it has little to do with practical reality. Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton were well known for their ethical lapses and each got elected president twice. Jimmy Carter was a man of high character but a nearly utter failure as president. And telling us the president must have a "capacity to persuade," tells us little we do not already know. No one can get nominated, let alone elected, without the power of persuasion, but some presidents are better preachers from the bully pulpit than others. The question, of course is: Why? For all of his experience in public life, Gergen has not yet given enough thought to the lessons he can draw from that experience.
Sometime before the election of 2004, I urge Gergen to return to his computer, cut the text by about one-third, but triple the penetrating analysis. The result, I predict, would be a genuine contribution to the popular literature about what it takes to be a leader in the most powerful elected office in the world.
36 GERGEN KNOWS WHERE POWER RESIDES
Davie, you've given away the store on us Public Relations guys .Anyone who reads your book will now see that you are the quintessential PR officer. One day you're pushing the image of a republican, then shining up a democrat . One day you're in the Ehite House, the next week you're doing infotainment duty on TV with the likes of Larry King and Babawawa . Of course a PR officer with lots of stripes knows that the power behingd the White House is the top PR guy on staff--- AND NOW EVERYONE KNOWS THAT'S YOU, BABY!....Oh, well. Here you are cashing in with a best selling book that'll bring you to North Dakota, Seattle and who knows what towns as a talking head par excellence , like old Bill Buckley . By the way, Davie . On page 207 you point out that while Reagan was in the White House " the federal debt jumped from $1 trillion to $4 trillion." Golly gee, so the reagan years were championship inflation years ? That's not much to do with leadership, is it ? Any idiot could have said : " Let's spend out way out of this mess . " ...On page 241 you say you had a hand hiring " conservative" writers to pump out Regan's speeches . Jeepers, baby, if the federal debt jumped from $1 trillion to $4 trillion, how can you call them speech writing folks " conservatives ." But I get it Davie . The book's a big leg pull, right . You've been a PR honcho for so long, you saw nothing wrong with Republicans hiring Bob Hope's joke writers to keep the American folks laughing at the political follies !. Great Davie . Keep the morons marching-and laughing .
37 "Leading" versus "governing" in the era of mass media
In reviewing David Gergen's book, "Eyewitness to Power", it is instructive to look at its subtitle: "The Essence of Leadership from Nixon to Clinton".
Gergen distinguishes between "governing" and "leading" - and with this useful distinction, one can understand clearly why Jimmy Carter, certainly one of the more intellectually gifted of recent presidents, failed so completely to articulate a clear vision of his administration and its goals; and why Ronald Reagan, who succeeded Carter following the 1980 Republican landslide, became, in Gergen's opinion, "the best leader in the White House since Franklin Roosevelt" - although Reagan was usually considered anything but intellectual.
One could, however, flip Gergen's distinction on its head, and reasonably argue that, while Reagan may have been a great leader, he failed at governance - defaulting on his responsibilities for overseeing the actions of individuals in his administration, a default leading to the Iran-Contra scandal, the nature, scope and occurrence of which would have been well-neigh unimaginable in the Carter White House.
Gergen's premise seems to be that "good government" presidents - what he calls "goo-gooers" for short - cannot survive by mere administrative competence alone. Without the ability to sell the public on policy initiatives through exceptional persuasive and inspirational abilities, the performance of a "goo-gooer" president at best may be a good administration, but a poor show.
In our media-saturated era, that bodes ill for potential presidents who may possess all the gifts and abilities to serve the Republic well, save stage presence and telegenic good looks. As the Professor in the movie "Back to the Future" said about Ronald Reagan: "No wonder your President has to be an actor!" Gergen fails to contemplate this consequence of his definition of effective leadership upon effective governance, and what in turn may be the effect upon our pool of potential leaders and how we select them for office. It is doubtful that Thomas Jefferson, were he alive today, with his unassuming manners, poor speaking voice, and reticent personality, would satisfy Gergen's criteria for great leadership.
38 Keen insight from a White House insider to 4 Presidents
I was fascinated to read about the day-to-day working behavior of Clinton, Ford, Reagan and Nixon from a true insider. Without being a "kiss and tell" author, Gergen gave me keen insight into the personal behavior of four fascinating Presidents and their use of power. Gergen also draws 7 relevant guidelines for evaluating future Presidents -- a timely roadmap for November 2000 !
