The President's Call: Executive Leadership From FDR to George Bush (3 page)

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Authors: Judith E. Michaels

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8.1Whom Did PASs Consult Most on Policy, Budget, and Personnel Issues?
234
8.2How Helpful Were PASs and SESs in Accomplishing Work Tasks?
235
8.3.Job Satisfaction Among IRC and Non-IRC PASs
243
A.1Demographics of PAS Survey Response Rate and OPM PAS Statistics
292
 
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Acknowledgments
The number of Senate-confirmed political appointees (PASs) who took the time to complete the Bush PAS Survey, sent notes of apology if they were late in returning it, called me for clarification, or signed their names indicating a willingness to be interviewed (35 percent of the respondents) was most heartening. Clearly, this project could not have been completed without their cooperation and I extend to them my most sincere thanks.
I am especially indebted to the PASs who allowed themselves to be interviewed in connection with this research. They each gave me as much as an hour and a half of uninterrupted time and were, to a person, gracious, attentive, and forthcoming. Some requested anonymity or asked that parts of the interview be kept off the record, but most felt able to be open and were willing to be quoted by name. Those who did not want direct attribution often provided very useful insights into "behind the scenes" politics.
That all these PASs, at the highest levels of government and living under the stress of incredible responsibilities and time pressures, were so candid and accessible was, to me, a reassuring indication of the health of our nation's system of governance. They made a significant contribution to this study and are listed by name, title, executive level, and agency in appendix 5.
Thanks are due also to the many persons (careerists, congressional staff, appointees, and others) in various agencies who assisted in this study, from its initial conception to survey design, pretest, and postsurvey interviews. They provided context and background, as well as many useful ideas for the PAS Survey and follow-up interview questions. These individuals are listed in appendices 3, 4, and 6.
Individuals such as James Pfiffner at George Mason University, Gail Johnson at Old Dominion University, John Trattner at the Council on Excellence and Government, and Mark Abramson at Leadership Inc. were also helpful in the early stages. I especially thank the draft reviewers, Jim Pfiffner and Carolyn Ban, at the University of Pittsburgh, who offered perceptive and very helpful criticism that did much to shape the final form
 
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of this book. To Jim, gracious and insightful, I owe particular thanks.
The General Accounting Office, through its Doctoral Research Fellowship, made possible the survey and access to the political labyrinth that is Washington, as well as the year I spent in residence there. Thanks to its fellowship staff director, Ken Hunter, and to Bernie Ungar and his Group within GAO's General Government Division, especially Dick Caradine, Helen Fauntleroy, Bill Trancucci, and, in the Design Methodology Technical Assistance Group, Rudy Chatlos and Marge Schauer, who worked with me to create the survey instrument. Thanks also to George Quinn and DeLois Richardson, who did the typing and data input for the survey.
Special appreciation is due Roger Sperry and the National Academy of Public Administration. They graciously allowed me to adapt many of the questions from their 1984 study of presidential appointees and were a valuable source of information in the survey's initial phases. Thanks also to Julie Dolan for her work on the index for this book.
This book is based on my doctoral dissertation at the University of Delaware, College of Urban Affairs and Public Policy. My dissertation committee members, Jeffrey Raffel, Timothy Barnekov, and Deborah Auger were very supportive, asked good, if not always easy, questions, and made practical suggestions along the way. For these contributions, I am most appreciative. To my committee chair and advisor, Mark Huddleston, I owe special acknowledgment for his stamina, confidence in me, friendship, openness, and wise counsel. He was a steady source of encouragement and support, a true mentor and intellectual colleague. I remain in his debt.
 
Page 1
1
Introduction
Presidents, more than anyone else, are judged by the company they keep. The appointees who head and administer the executive branch's cabinet agencies exist not only to carry out the policy of the occupant of the White House, they also reflect back distinction or disgrace on that occupant. An incompetent or unqualified secretary of the Department of Energy, for example, or a corrupt secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development exposes the whole administration to intense scrutiny from an insatiable press and ridicule from television and radio talk show hosts. A poor appointee anywhere in the bureaucratic hierarchy can cast a shadow over the entire presidency. Conversely, creative and politically astute cabinet secretaries reflect a president in clear charge of the nation; they inspire confidence in the entire administration.
Presidents' choices tell the country who and what its leader is, and speak volumes about his or her character, credibility, and suitability for the job. Therefore,
who
these choices are is of great moment in any president's administration and consequently to the nation it serves. This book examines the Senate-confirmed presidential appointees (PASs) of one cohort of appointees, that of the George Bush administration. It does so within the larger context of the institution of presidential appointments in the modern era to analyze what his choices disclose about this president, his administration, and the institution. Of particular interest is how Bush's PASs compare with those of his predecessor, Ronald Reagan.
 
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Political appointees head a federal workforce of some two million people in the civilian labor force, of whom only 537 (the president, vice president, and members of Congress) are chosen by election. The rest serve by virtue of civil service or political appointment and are divided into three branches and two camps that, at the highest levels of government bureaucracy, can be competitive as often as complementary. The larger camp is composed of career employees in the civil service or other comparable categories. The smaller camp is composed of nearly four thousand full-time and sixteen hundred part-time appointees, persons appointed by the president or his surrogates to oversee the career workforce.
These political appointees, the focus of this book, are commonly called ''in-and-outers," "short-timers," or "short-termers." They come and go with the current administration and as an institution are deeply rooted in the nation's history:
From the earliest days of the United States as a nation, the highest-ranking administrators of the federal government have been drawn largely from a category of people known in federal parlance as "in-and-outers," individuals for whom government service is neither a profession nor a career. No other nation relies so heavily on noncareer personnel for the management of its government. In its breadth and importance, the in-and-outer system of leadership is uniquely American. (Mackenzie 1987, xiii)
Political appointments and appointees have been a source of controversy in American government since nearly the founding of the Republic. Numerous issues have arisen and continue to arise about this in-and-outer, or short-termer, system and the political leaders it produces to serve in the federal government. Ongoing questions pertain to: their number and placement; their qualifications; their relations with the White House, the Congress, high-level political executives in other executive agencies, and senior career executives; their tenure in office; and the appointment and confirmation process by which they come to hold office.
While the development of the civil service merit system in the late nineteenth century established a career counterbalance to political appointments, the growing number of appointees and their infiltration into the bureaucracy not only continued, it accelerated and deepened, particularly with the advent of the modern presidency in the administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
1
Political appointees of all types proliferated with the expansion of government wrought by FDR's New Deal (see table 1.1 for outline of PAS structure).

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