Glenn: Let me start by asking a sensitive question: how do you advise the leader of the free world?
Mr. Gergen: Carefully! In terms of talking to Presidents, the first thing to learn is to speak truth to power. Sometimes you can be out of step with what the President wants to hear, and you risk disfavor. It is probably even more important to speak conscience of power.
Glenn: Which of the four Presidents was the easiest to advise?
Mr. Gergen: Oh, there is no question that the easiest was Gerry Ford. Gerry Ford was a man who looked better and better in the rear-view mirror of history. There's an old aphorism in Washington: people forget a lot, but trust is the coin of the realm. Trust is what really makes a democratic system work.
Glenn: Who was the best leader you advised?
Mr. Gergen: I actually thought Reagan was the best leader of the group that I worked for. Put aside whether you agree or disagree with his policies. Reagan was far and away the best leader we had in the White House since FDR.
Like Reagan, Obama has this sort of calm at his center. Today, I'm asked, "Is Obama going to turn out to be the best leader we've had since FDR?" I don't know the answer to that question. We'll have to wait and see.
Glenn: If you look over the four Presidents that you've advised, what advice do you think had the most impact?
Mr. Gergen: I think I had more influence on trying to help get Bill Clinton "out of the ditch." When I went back to the White House in the 90s, Bill Clinton had got off to a stumbling start, and eventually he went into the ditch. I have great admiration for Bill Clinton. I think he did a lot of good things for the country. What I find is, when you have a leader who's in trouble, there are two ways to go: you can focus on cleaning up the leader's weaknesses, or you can remember the leader's strengths. People tend to look at their weaknesses. I think it's far more important to focus on the strengths.
My advice to Bill Clinton was, "Remember who you are. Let Clinton be Clinton." I found in working with Clinton that his strengths are what got him through.
Glenn: What do you think is the smartest thing Obama's done in the first 100 days?
Mr. Gergen: I think the smartest thing he's done is keep a lot of his campaign promises. He campaigned and said, "I'm going to do this, this, this and this," and to a remarkable degree he has been faithful to his campaign promises.
I think part of our problem as a country is a sense of broken trust, of broken faith. People feel our leaders, whether in politics and now increasingly in business, have broken faith with them. They say one thing and do another.
I think Obama is gradually winning people's trust as someone who does what he says he's going to do. The trust in Obama is transferring over to trust in the future of the country and, in turn, may help the economy.
These are but a few excerpts from my wide-ranging conversation.
May 2009
