Herb Klein

Herb Klein died in LaJolla today. He was Nixon's first director of communications. And that is where I first met him. But he was also a very loyal Trojan (He graduated from SC in 1940.) Herb had two qualities that I admired. First, he seemed unfazed by power. Perhaps it was who he worked with. Perhaps it was his nature, but in the time that I worked with him (I worked with him after both of us had left the White House) he was ready with careful advice and counsel. His second quality was even more important. I think I first met him when I was in my mid-twenties. He was ready to offer advice to young professionals in a way that was timely and useful. He did not offer his suggestions with ego. He also had a pretty good sense of humor.

He served on a voluntary board of advisors for independent colleges and helped us get into see key politicians but also was ready with ideas about how to get the attention of various political figures. He served in a number of political positions starting with the Eisenhower administration but it was with President Nixon where he gained visibility. But when he left the White House in 1973 he went on to a series of positions in the news business. He ultimately was the Editor in Chief of the Copley Papers for about 20 years.