Sandy Berger: An Instinct for The Important

SANDY BERGER brings Carter-era ideals tempered by pragmatism to the new foreign policy team

A year out of Harvard Law School in 1972, Sandy Berger was traveling with presidential candidate George McGovern as a speechwriter. When they landed in San Antonio for a rally, Berger caught a first glimpse of his future boss, bounding up the steps of the plane: a tall, striking young man, improbably clad in a Colonel Sanders white suit, who was serving as McGovern's Texas coordinator. Bill Clinton and Sandy Berger have been "real friends" ever since, says a senior Clinton aide. "You can see the affection when they're in the room together."

When Clinton weighed whether or not to run...

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