Michael Gerson is a nationally syndicated columnist who appears twice weekly in the Washington Post and in nearly 100 other newspapers. He is the author of Heroic Conservatism (HarperOne, 2007) and co-author of City of Man: Religion and Politics in a New Era (Moody, 2010). He appears regularly on the PBS NewsHour, Face the Nation and other programs. Gerson serves as Senior Advisor at ONE, a bipartisan organization dedicated to the fight against extreme poverty and preventable diseases.
Until 2006, Gerson was a top aide to President George W. Bush as Assistant to the President for Policy and Strategic Planning. Prior to that appointment, he served in the White House as Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Presidential Speechwriting and Assistant to the President for Speechwriting and Policy Advisor.
Looking at the New Political Landscape
Michael Gerson presents a dynamic overview of what lies ahead on the political horizon. Will Democratic and Republican leaders work together to achieve greater political and moral goals - or give in to darker, more divisive tendencies? Mr. Gerson analyzes all sides and presents his case by providing examples from his five eventful years of White House service.
Four Challenges to American Leadership
America has entered a period of global challenge and change, which has provoked a major debate about our role in the world. Informed by personal involvement on issues ranging from democracy in the Middle East, to genocide in Sudan, to AIDS in Africa, Michael Gerson identifies the urgent international tests that require American leadership, and charts a hopeful way forward.
He serves on the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Committee on Conscience, the Board of Directors of Bread for the World, the Initiative for Global Development Leadership Council, and the boards of the U.S. Center for Global Leadership and The News Literacy Project. He is co-chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Values.
As Assistant to the President for Policy and Strategic Planning, Gerson was a key administration advocate for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), the fight against global sex trafficking, and funding for women’s justice and empowerment issues. Prior to that appointment, he served in the White House as Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Presidential Speechwriting and Assistant to the President for Speechwriting and Policy Advisor. Mr. Gerson joined Bush’s presidential campaign in early 1999 as chief speechwriter and a senior policy adviser.
He was previously a Senior Editor covering politics at U.S. News and World Report. Mr. Gerson was a speechwriter and policy adviser for Jack Kemp and a speechwriter for Bob Dole during the 1996 presidential campaign. He has also served Senator Dan Coats of Indiana as Policy Director. Mr. Gerson is a graduate of Wheaton College in Illinois.
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