The White House world : transitions, organization, and office operations / edited by Martha Joynt Kumar and Terry Sullivan.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Kumar, Martha Joynt.

Sullivan, Terry (Terry O.)

Series:

Joseph V. Hughes, Jr., and Holly O. Hughes series in the presidency and leadership studies ; no. 13.

The presidency and leadership ; no. 13

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Presidents--United States.

Presidents.

United States.

Presidents--United States--Transition periods.

Presidents--United States--Staff.

Bush, George W. (George Walker), 1946-.

Bush, George W.

Physical Description:

xxvii, 405 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

College Station : Texas A&M University Press, [2003]

Summary:

When George W. Bush and his staff finally got word he had officially won the 2000 presidential election, they had only thirty-seven days left to shift from campaign mode to governing. Fortunately for the Bush team, a group of presidency scholars had gathered and provided them with a wealth of substantive analysis about presidential transitions and White House operations. With information covering six administrations and interviews with seventy-five former senior White House officials as well as with President Gerald Ford, the White House Interview Program proved an important resource for the new occupants of the West Wing. The project was sponsored by The Pew Charitable Trusts and carried out by members of the Presidency Research Group of the American Political Science Association. The White House World gathers and digests the same material that was provided to the incoming White House staff. Its individual chapters contain a veritable "how-to" manual: information on the dynamics of White House operations; the functions of seven critical White House offices; and the actual transition of President Bush.

This unique volume provides details known to few working outside Pennsylvania Avenue. It also features organization charts for the offices analyzed, giving the first comprehensive look at how different administrations have structured these offices. Plus, in a final section, scholars and Bush Administration insiders offer brief views of George W. Bush's unique transition into office. In addition to Professors Kumar and Sullivan, scholars contributing to the volume include: Peri E. Arnold, MaryAnne Borrelli, John P. Burke, George C. Edwards III, John Fortier, Karen Hult, Nancy Kassop, John H. Kessel, G. Calvin Mackenzie, Norman Ornstein, Bradley H. Patterson, Jr., James P. Pfiffner, Kathryn Dunn Tenpas, Charles Walcott, Shirley Anne Warshaw, and Stephen J. Wayne. The section on the Bush transition also contains an essay by transition insider Clay Johnson, executive director of the Bush-Cheney Transition and now director of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel. For those interested in the functioning of the presidency -- whether political actors, interested observers, or scholars -- this book is a must-have. It tells the real story of who does what, who knows what, and how selected White House offices function.

Contents:

Part 1 The Presidential Transition

Meeting the Freight Train Head On: Planning for the Transition to Power / Martha Joynt Kumar, George C. Edwards III, James P. Pfiffner, Terry Sullivan 5

Lessons from Past Presidential Transitions: Organization, Management, and Decision Making / John P. Burke 25

A Tale of Two Presidential Transitions, 1980 and 1988 / John P. Burke 45

Part 2 The White House Environment: Politics, Organization, and Work Life

The Political Environment of the White House / John H. Kessel 63

The White House Is Like City Hall / Martha Joynt Kumar 81

The Pressures of White House Work Life: "Naked in a Glass House" / Martha Joynt Kumar 94

Part 3 White House Offices: Seven Keys to a Successful Start

The Office of Chief of Staff / Charles E. Walcott, Shirley Anne Warshaw, Stephen Wayne 111

The Office of Staff Secretary / Karen Hult, Kathryn Dunn Tenpas 140

The Office of Presidential Personnel / Bradley H. Patterson, Jr., James P. Pfiffner 165

The White House Counsel's Office / Maryanne Borrelli, Karen Hult, Nancy Kassop 193

The Office of the Press Secretary / Martha Joynt Kumar 224

The Office of Communications / Martha Joynt Kumar 252

The Office of Management and Administration / Peri E. Arnold, Bradley H. Patterson, Jr., Charles E. Walcott 279

Part 4 George W. Bush Makes His Transition into Office and into the White House

The 2000-2001 Presidential Transition: Planning, Goals, and Reality / Clay Johnson III 311

The Bush 2000 Transition: The Historical Context / John P. Burke 318

The Real Invisible Hand: Presidential Appointees in the Administration of George W. Bush / G. Calvin Mackenzie 326

Already Buried and Sinking Fast: Presidential Nominees and Inquiry / Terry Sullivan 335

Strategic Choices and the Early Bush Legislative Agenda / George C. Edwards III 342

Relations with Congress / Norman Ornstein, John Fortier 352

Recruiting and Organizing the White House Staff / Martha Joynt Kumar 360.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1585442232

1585442275

OCLC:

50802627