High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Harry Cummings McPherson, Jr. (August 22, 1929 – February 16, 2012) served as counsel and special counsel to President of the United States Lyndon B. Johnson from 1965 to 1969 and was Johnson’s chief speechwriter from 1966 to 1969. McPherson’s A Political Education, 1972, is a classic insider’s view of Washington and an essential source for Johnson’s presidency. A prominent Washington lawyer and lobbyist since 1969, McPherson was awarded American Lawyer magazine’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008. He died February 16, 2012, in Bethesda, Maryland.