David Gergen | WatchedThis
David Gergen
Acting
Biography
David Richmond Gergen (May 9, 1942 - July 10, 2025) was an American political commentator and former presidential adviser who served during the administrations of Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton. He was a senior political analyst for CNN and a professor of public service and the founding director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School. Gergen is also the former editor at large of U.S. News & World Report and a contributor to CNN.com and Parade Magazine. He has twice been a member of election coverage teams that won Peabody awards—in 1988 with MacNeil–Lehrer, and in 2008 with CNN. Gergen joined the Nixon White House in 1971, as a staff assistant on the speech-writing team, becoming director of speechwriting two years later. He served as director of communications for both Ford and Reagan. He also became a senior adviser to the Democrat Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Warren Christopher. He graduated with honors from Yale and Harvard Law School, and has been awarded 27 honorary degrees.
Filmography Movies
Acting
Martial Law 9-11: Rise of the Police State
Evil has spread across the land. Martial Law: 9/11 Rise of the Police State exposes the high-tech control grid that is being set up across America Out of the ashes of the September 11th tragedy, a dark empire of war and tyranny has risen. The Constitution has been shredded and America is now a Police State. This film exposes not just who was behind the 9-11 attacks, but the roots and history of its orchestrators.
How to Win the TV Debate
With Britain's first-ever political leaders' television debate imminent, award-winning reporter Michael Cockerell uncovers what it's like to take part in these contests and how leaders try to win them. He tells the inside story of why it has taken so long for such debates to arrive in the UK. The programme features candid interviews with US Presidents and their advisers on the tricks of the debate trade. Blending new film and behind-the-scenes footage, some never seen before, it's a tragicomic tale of high politics and low cunning. From John F Kennedy and Richard Nixon through to Barack Obama, candidates are seen being prepared for their debates, then in the sometimes funny, sometimes disastrous results on live television. Cockerell shows why for our would-be next Prime Ministers - Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg - the three debate stages across Britain will be what one former US President calls 'Tension City'.
America's Political Parties: Power and Principle
From the 1968 Chicago convention and the surprising rise of Ronald Reagan, the history of the two parties continues to shape their current dilemmas and strategies. This two-part documentary series looks back at the parties’ recent history and speculates on the future of American politics. The Democrats 1960-1992 examines the presidencies of Kennedy, Johnson, and Carter, and the lead-up to the 1992 election. Hosted by journalists Ben Wattenberg and David Gergen. Interviews include: Henry Kissinger, VP Walter Mondale, Sen. Barry Goldwater, Sen. Eugene McCarthy, SecDef Dick Cheney, Sen. Gary Hart, Rep. Newt Gingrich, and Jesse Jackson.
The West Wing Documentary Special
Celebrating the people of the real West Wing, this documentary features interviews with former Presidents Carter, Clinton, and Ford, Secretary of State Kissinger, and more than a dozen White House aides, chiefs of staff, and press secretaries.
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