Summary of David Gergen’s Remarks at Growth Conference 2009
Janey Bishoff, CEO of Bishoff Communications LLC, a Boston-based public relations and marketing firm, is also a political junkie and avid Gergen watcher. This article is a compilation of Janey’s Twitter “tweets” from Gergen’s keynote presentation at ACG Boston’s Growth Conference 2009.
David Gergen focused his remarks on the administration and opened with “this is most important Presidency of our time!” He said that the Obama Presidency is as significant as the Presidency of Teddy Roosevelt. He then proceeded to talk about the Moment, the Movement & the Man.
The Moment
When Gergen arrived in Washington DC years ago, those governing were mostly the World War II generation. They were a good group to govern, he said, but theirs was also the generation that gave us Vietnam and Watergate – both sad events in our history. Overall, however, those years [1960’s-1980’s] were a good time for business. In 1993, Gergen said the baton was turned over to a new generation of pre-baby boomers with totally different points of reference. The split that occurred in this country following the 1960’s and ‘70’s, over Vietnam and social values, has haunted us ever since and set the stage for the last election.
The Movement
Gergen noted that the ‘08 election reflected a huge desire for change in America, and totally shifted the political tide. He explained that the Obama candidacy created a new coalition comprised of three new constituencies who had not been significantly involved in politics previously — African Americans, Hispanics, and youth. President Obama won the millennial generation by 34%. Given the shifting political tides that occur, he said, these groups will likely be Democrats for some time–so this is a new era in American political life.
The Man
Gergen described President Obama as a formidable leader with a raw political talent, a rare oratorical gift, and the capacity to govern. In comparing Obama to Bill Clinton, Gergen noted that, unlike Clinton, not only is Obama a true strategist, he is emotionally well put together. Unlike some others (e.g., Lyndon Johnson) he enjoys power, but doesn’t need power for his own validation. So he’s an incredibly gifted political leader moving in new directions, but, Gergen questions where will it end up?
The Future
Noting that there is no businessperson’s perspective in the administration, Gergen said this is the first time there is no CEO in the Cabinet, and that makes a difference. He thinks that such perspective would have yielded more restraint when the AIG debacle broke. He observed that Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is getting better, but noted that Geithner still does not have a business team to support him.
There are arguments going on within the Administration, Gergen said, about how much debt we can carry. And he thinks that the long term result of the economic situation will be a shift in the balance of power with greater power going to China.
There are many unanswered questions, Gergen opined, about how the Federal Government will impose new regulations in the wake of the financial crisis. He asked, “Will it regulate appropriately? Or will the Government be a Master who will squelch dynamism in the private sector?”
And he added, “The Republicans have almost written themselves out of conversation because they’re so extreme.”
Gergen said that the Administration is not sure whether we’re at the bottom of the Recession yet. The mainstream view, he said, is that it will occur this year, and there will probably not be any more bailouts.
He is surprised at how successful in the Administration is in keeping health care and energy on the front burner. He said that they are likely to get a health care bill through this year and some form of an energy bill through this year as well.
The bottom line, Gergen commented, is that the business community needs to regain the public trust. But most importantly, he counseled the business community to lobby for a role in the Administration and ensure that it can gain the ear of policymakers.
