940: “Centrism doesn’t mean splitting the difference”

RIP David Gergen, a catalyst for good groups

It’s rare for a quote about centrism to headline a New York Times obituary.

But David Gergen, who died Thursday in Massachusetts, was a rare breed.

A master communicator. A teacher of leadership. And a catalyst for groups powering a new generation of service-minded elected officials.

It was Mr. Gergen who devised a line in the 1980 presidential election t…