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Michael Gerson

Columnist.

The writing of Michael Gerson resounds with fundamental values, a firm belief in liberty for all, and a heartfelt conscience. As a traveler to the desperate places of the world, Gerson is mindful of the reality of evil and oppression as well as the dignity and hope of those who suffer. He is a conservative who often challenges conservative orthodoxy, defying political typecasting.

Twice weekly in his column written for The Washington Post and distributed by the Writers Group, Gerson marches a path of true conviction -- conviction nurtured during his two years at U.S. News & World Report, where he covered topics such as philanthropy and civil society. Then as head speechwriter and a policy adviser for George W. Bush from 1999 until 2006, Gerson became the voice of "compassionate conservatism" within the White House, taking stands on the need to combat poverty, prevent the spread of AIDS in Africa and elsewhere, and confront racial inequality.

Gerson echoed his convictions in some of the most memorable phrases in Bush's speeches. "The soft bigotry of low expectations" was his depiction of discrimination against minority children in failing schools and "a republic founded on equality for all became a prison for millions" was his vivid description of American slavery. Gerson's writing, filled with literary and biblical references, appeals to readers in a subtle but profound way. It's not, however, a strategy. "It comes from my own background and my own reading of the history of American rhetoric." For instance, Gerson explains, "many images of the civil rights movement were drawn from the Exodus. In political discourse, these images are given a lesser meaning, but they have an added literary resonance precisely because they have a deeper meaning. And I think that American public discourse would be impoverished without them."

Gerson was born in New Jersey in 1964 and grew up in St. Louis, where he met his wife at the church they attended. He studied theology at Wheaton College in Illinois and after graduation went to work for the Prison Fellowship Ministries, founded by Watergate figure Charles Colson. Gerson later became policy director for then-Sen. Daniel Coats of Indiana and also acted as an adviser to Jack Kemp and wrote speeches for Bob Dole's presidential campaign. His book, Heroic Conservatism: Why Republicans Need to Embrace America's Ideals (And Why They Deserve to Fail If They Don't), was published in 2007 by HarperOne.

Gerson left the White House in 2006 and is currently a senior research fellow in the Center on Faith & International Affairs at the Institute for Global Engagement (IGE). He lives in Virginia with his wife and two sons.

The First Election of the Obama Backlash

WASHINGTON -- The late-night hotel desk clerk in Salem, Va., -- after my long drive from Washington down the Shenandoah Valley -- wanted to talk political philosophy. He intended to support Republican Bob McDonnell for governor in November on Madisonian grounds. "I vote both parties, but I don't want anyone having all the control." Obama, in his view, needed to be checked and balanced. This is the durable tendency of Virginia politics. Since 1977, the political party that has won the presidency has, in every case, lost the Virginia governorship in the next election. This pattern of cussedness is holding, at least for the moment. McDonnell, Virginia's former attorney general, is currently well ahead of his Democratic opponent, Creigh Deeds -- in one poll leading by 15 percent among likely voters.

Obama's Reality Problem

WASHINGTON -- At first it seemed plausible that President Obama had a communications problem on health care -- to which the solution was always more and more Obama. But exposure did not translate into persuasion. Then it seemed useful to diagnose a partisan problem, blaming a small minority of congressional obstructionists and town hall crazies for frustrating the will of the majority -- until polls showed a majority opposing Democratic approaches to health reform. More Americans (according to a recent Washington Post poll) now think that health quality, costs and their own insurance coverage will get worse under Obamacare than believe these things will improve.

A Rough Equilibrium Threatened

WASHINGTON -- This week, as the health care reform debate reached new levels of divisiveness, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that America's health system is achieving wonders of longevity. Due to falling mortality in nearly every cause of death, a child born in 2006 is likely to live almost 78 years. This still lags behind some other countries that lack the cultural tradition of the chicken-fried steak. But American life expectancy in 1959 was 70 years. In 1909, it was only 51.

Hitler and Health Care

WASHINGTON -- During live television coverage of the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago, novelist Gore Vidal famously called William F. Buckley a " crypto-Nazi." To which Buckley famously replied (in addition to other choice words), "Stop calling me a crypto-Nazi or I'll sock you in the goddamn face and you'll stay plastered."

The Joyful Revolution

WASHINGTON -- Eunice Kennedy Shriver was a civil rights hero, and unique even in that select company. Most civil rights revolutions are made by rhetoric and law -- ignited by protest, summarized in memorable speeches and confirmed at bill signings. In founding the Special Olympics, Shriver led a revolution of sport and competition that forever changed the way Americans view people with intellectual disabilities, and the way that many of the intellectually disabled view themselves. It was America's most joyful civil rights movement -- a revolution of play.