Wheaton College Alumni Magazine Winter 2015 | Page 24

Palace, with a personal footman named Russell, who I really miss. And
then almost immediately afterwards, you have a Medicare speech that’s a
disaster, and it’s your fault.”
After retiring from his role as senior adviser at the White House in 2006,
Gerson began utilizing his public platform to discuss topics including
faith, politics, and social issues. He now works as a syndicated columnist
with The Washington Post, and has authored two books: Heroic Conservatism
(HarperCollins, 2007) and City of Man: Religion and Politics in a New Era
(Moody Publishers, 2010).
“In a society ruled by lies, truth gains a singular, explosive, incalculable
political power,” says Gerson in one of his columns. He calls a commitment
to truth “a lever long enough to move the world.”
He witnessed the power of this lever through his work in crafting the
$15 billion plan for AIDS relief in 2003, about which he has said, “This is
what principled, morally efficient government can accomplish under the
right circumstances.”

Lights, Camera, Action
Brendan Wilkerson ’08 works as a television news producer at KDVR/
KWGN in Denver, supervising content for the 9 p.m. newscast. He vividly
remembers covering the Aurora theater shooting in July 2012. On air for 16
straight hours without a commercial break, he says his faith helped sustain
him in the midst of such an unspeakable tragedy.
“As a Christian, there have been instances where I’m