Noted journalist, author and presidential adviser David Gergen held a question-and-answer session with students in Elon’s Whitley Auditorium on Wednesday, Jan. 14. Details...
On campus this month as the first Isabella Cannon Distinguished Visiting Professor of Leadership at Elon, Gergen fielded questions about leadership, his experience as editor of U.S. News & World Report and the 2004 presidential race.
Gergen was first asked about the prospects for peace in the Middle East with Yasser Arafat leading the Palestinians and Ariel Sharon as Israeli prime minister.
“Our government thinks that Arafat needs to be out of there and Sharon can stay,” Gergen said. “Both leaders are operating in the context of extremists on both sides who are determined that peace never comes. You’re going to be living with this probably for the rest of your lives,” he told students.
Gergen was also asked about his experiences as editor of U.S. News & World Report, which he joined in 1984 after working for the Reagan administration. At that time, U.S. News was in third place behind Time and Newsweek — a challenge that Gergen welcomed. “You can make more changes when you’re not at the top and you want to change,” he said.
When running an organization, Gergen said “the most important thing you can do is to appoint good people to run things for you” and to learn how to get the best out of those people. He spoke at length about the importance of caring for people as a leader.
“Do you have to love your followers? No. But you have to care about them — and care deeply about them,” he said. “You never ask them to do anything that you’re not willing to do yourself.”
Toward the end of the hour-long session, Gergen spoke about the leadership potential of three Democratic presidential candidates — John Edwards, Wesley Clark and Howard Dean.
“The more people are exposed to John Edwards, the more they like him,” he said. Since Edwards’ campaign has not yet “caught fire,” Gergen said he must place at least third in Iowa’s caucuses on Jan. 19.
Retired Gen. Wesley Clark needs a second-place finish in the Jan. 27 New Hampshire primary to be a strong candidate, the former presidential adviser said. “He wants to emerge as the alternative to Howard Dean,” Gergen said, adding that Clark’s military background gives him leadership experience that could be beneficial in today’s war-on-terror environment.
As for Howard Dean, Gergen praised the Vermont governor for finding new ways to reach voters. “He’s stirring the younger generation in ways that Wes Clark is not right now,” he said, noting how Dean’s use of the Internet to organize some 1,200 house parties in New Hampshire has given people there a sense of community.
But no matter who wins the Democratic nomination, Gergen said, the current president is a tough political leader who will be hard to beat in November.
“George W. Bush now holds all the cards — including the ace of spades,” Gergen said, referring to the capture of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in Iraq last month.