He supported Barack Obama for president in 2008 after Senator John McCain, the Republican nominee, chose Sarah Palin, then governor of Alaska, as his running mate. In an interview with NBC at the time, Mr. Duberstein questioned both Ms. Palin’s qualifications and Mr. McCain’s opinion, saying that Ms. Palin was offered the job after only one interview.
“Even at McDonald’s, you get three interviews before you get a job,” he said.
Both Republicans and Democrats paid tribute to Mr. Duberstein after his death. Caroline Kennedy, who worked closely with him when Mr. Duberstein chaired the Senior Advisory Committee of the Institute for Politics at the Johnston School of Government. Kennedy of Harvard University, called it “a constant and inspiring presence” for students.
“America has lost a great patriot,” said James A. Baker III, one of Mr. Duberstein’s predecessors as White House Chief of Staff and later Reagan Treasury Secretary.
Kenneth Mark Duberstein was born April 21, 1944 to Aaron Duberstein, a fundraiser for the Boy Scouts of America, and Jewel (Falb) Duberstein, a housewife. He grew up loving New York hot dogs and Broadway shows, often paying for stand-up-only tickets, his wife Jacqueline Fane Duberstein said. In later years, he became a trustee of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington.
After high school at Poly Prep Country Private Day School in Brooklyn, he attended Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, graduating in 1965. The following year, he received a master’s degree in political science from the American University in Washington. There he had his first taste of Capitol politics, as an intern for Senator Jacob Javits, a New York Republican.
“He got into the car with Javits and drove him to spend some time alone with Javits,” his wife said. “That’s how his love for government began.”
In addition to his wife, Mr. Duberstein is survived by four children: Jennifer, Jeffrey, Andrew, and Samantha Duberstein; and two grandchildren. He was divorced from his first wife, Marjorie Duberstein, and from his second, Sidney Duberstein, who had died earlier.