Talk:David Gergen

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[edit] Stub

I think this article needs significantly more work. Gergen served several presidents and increasingly more significant roles. His biography should provide more information in his personal and professional history commensurate with his accomplishments.

This article has a continuing need for better editing.Jaedglass 15:01, 20 October 2007 (UTC)

Some mention needs to be made in the article as to David Gergen's involvement in Bohemian Grove, cited here: [1].

This doesn't seem like an especially important aspect of his life, unless you buy into some sort of vast conspiracy centered around Bohemian Grove... which seems not to be quite well supported enough to assume on wikipedia. It might be appropraite to include his name in the Bohemian Grove article.

The fourth paragraph appears to contain redundant information about him being a professor.

[edit] Bohemian Grove

I have moved Gergen's alleged membership in Bohemian Grove to the bottom of this biograph. If he is in fact a member of this group, it is an interesting footnote to his major accomplishments in government. Generally, the unverified claims of a conspiracy theorist have low credibility and should not be so prominent within a biographical article.Jaedglass 15:01, 20 October 2007 (UTC)

Please view the NNDB source that is posted that clearly displays his membership in all of the organizations referenced, including Bohemian Grove. It is indisputable, aka a fact. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.190.202.194 (talk) 16:47, 20 October 2007 (UTC)

First, I checked NNDB which lists Gergen as having resigned from Bohemian Grove as of June 1993. Based on this information, Gergen's membership in Bohemian Grove should be deleted. Second, it is an unsupportable conclusion that everything listed by NNDB is indisputable. Hearsay published by a website is not fact. Lastly, as I previously wrote, Gergen's past affiliation in Bohemian Grove is at most an interesting footnote for all except conspiracy theorists. Jaedglass 21:01, 20 October 2007 (UTC)

Please read the wikipedia article before commenting on this page. The article clearly said that he was found to be a member of Bohemian Grove. It does not say he is a current member. His membership is not given any connotation, either. Your interpretation is your business. Furthermore, NNDB is not just some website; it is run by Soylent Communications. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.190.202.194 (talk) 23:42, 20 October 2007 (UTC)

His membership of Bohemian Grove was confirmed from his own mouth and caught on videotape in an interview with Alex Jones. I quote "Listen I, um, I am a happy member of Bohemian Grove." The interview was conducted at the Republican National Convention in 2004. Notice the present tense in his response. "I am a happy member of Bohemian Grove." I am including this now on this page because the admission comes from his own words. He cannot sue himself for libel.Eblair03 (talk) 00:23, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

Neither NNDB nor some videotape off the Internet can be deemed a reliable source. If this is such a big deal, please source it. --Orange Mike | Talk 04:55, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Elon University School of Law

This section has the feel of being written by a student or alum of the law school and reads like a promotion for this school, particularly the list of notables on the advisory board who are figures otherwise unconnected to Gergen. Almost as much space is devoted to this aspect of this career - which seem to be a very minor aspect of this professional life when compared to his involvement in four presidential administrations - as to the entire rest of his biograph. Which is why it should be collapsed into a single sentence or completely eliminated.

[edit] Fair use rationale for Image:Gergen book large.jpg

Image:Gergen book large.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images lacking such an explanation can be deleted one week after being tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot (talk) 22:53, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Logan Act

I deleted the whole Logan Act since it is unreferenced. The Logan Act has never been used and its does not deal with membership in elite clubs. 70.45.166.124 (talk) 01:51, 17 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Irrelevant material

The following paragraph should not be included in this article:

Gergen's distant cousin, also named David Gergen, is the Founder and CEO of Gergen's Orthodontic Lab in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1985, Gergen's Orthodontic's has nearly 30 employees and does over $2 million in orthodontic and dental appliances annually, making it one of the largest and most successful labs in the country. Gergen was mentored by world renowned Dr. Bob Ricketts in TMJ therapy, has worked with Dr. Ron Roth out of San Francisco, and has worked directly with Dr. Paul Serrano to develop the Serrano Retractor. The combination of Gergen's experience and drive for success has led Gergen's Orthodontic Lab to be recognized as one of the top quality labs in the world. Gergen was awarded Arizona Businessman of the Year in 2003 and has been approached by prominent Arizona politicians Jan Brewer and Alberto Gutier to run for public office.

  • First, it involves a distant relative of very little note. Mentioning this cousin is quite different from mentioning the relationship between President Thomas Jefferson and Chief Justice John Marshall or President Theodore Roosevelt and President Franklyn D. Roosevelt.
  • Second, the information is completely irrelevant to the subject of this article. What relevance does the name of the doctor who mentored Gergen's cousin have to the life and career of Gergen? What does the Serrano Retractor have to do with the subject of this article? People are reading this article to learn about David Gergin the political figure not a founder of an obscure orthodontic company.
  • Third, this paragraph is poorly written; it contains weasel words and POV bias: "world renowned", "drive for success", "recognized as...top quality...in the world". It reads like text written for self-promotion or by a close family member or friend. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jaedglass (talk • contribs)
I concur. The account which inserted this advertisement (twice into this article, once into an article about another Gergen) has made no other edits. They've been warned about this spamming; if they try again, it may be time to block this as a spam-only account. --Orange Mike | Talk 17:01, 16 May 2008 (UTC)