Bush Adviser Was Dem Delegate

Perhaps it should come as no surprise that Joel D. Kaplan ’91—the replacement of Bush’s right-hand-man Karl Rove—was an active politico during his time at Harvard. But what is less easily anticipated is that Kaplan’s political party of choice was the Harvard Dems—he served as a Harvard delegate to the 1990 local State Democratic Conventions.

Kaplan assumed his position as the new manager of policy development at the White House one week ago after Rove stepped down.

While a representative of the Undergraduate Council from Eliot House, Kaplan also championed liberal causes. He was quoted in The Crimson as a strong advocate for house randomization, a pressing issue at the time.

“Segregation, voluntary or involuntary, accentuates differences and breeds intolerance,” Kaplan told The Crimson in 1989.

President of the Harvard Dems Eric P. Lesser ’07 said that he respected Kaplan’s undergraduate record.

“He seems to have done everything right in college. I don’t know where he went wrong,” Lesser joked. “I hope that any of our current members don’t go over to the dark side.”

University of Texas Professor of Law Hersel W. Perry Jr., a former Harvard lecturer for whom Kaplan worked as an undergraduate research assistant, said he remembers Kaplan as smart, hardworking and having “a really wry sense of humor.”

Perry said he viewed Kaplan’s mentality as less rigid than that of the current Bush administration, which he characterized as nonresponsive to diverse feedback.

“This administration is thought of as being very ideological and I remember Joel being very open minded and willing to listen to others,” Perry said. Of course I’m talking about someone 19 or 20 years old back in college, but I would be surprised if he still weren’t that way.”

Richard A. Primus ’92, assistant professor at University of Michigan’s Law School, said that he met Kaplan in Perry’s “terrific gov class.”

“Joel was a year ahead of me. He was ’91 and a gov jock, and I was ’92 and a soc stud,” said Primus. “I remember one night in Lamont, I looked over and Joel was there. It seemed that Joel had been there for four days, and would be there for four days more if necessary—he’s someone to be reckoned with.”

Primus added that while he clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth B. Ginsberg, Kaplan clerked for Justice Antonin Scalia.

“There were multiple times when there was a really tough case, and I was glad that the person on the Scalia case was Joel because he was a good person to work with—smart, hard-working, dedicated and serious,” he said.

Perry said that Kaplan’s time as a Harvard undergrad could have contribued to his future success.

“I think the type of training one received in the government department when he was there was excellent training for public service,” he said. “Some of the debates among the students in my class may have been more vociferous than the one’s he’ll face in the White House, because Harvard gov students like to argue.”