Then there are the more quiet pleasures, such as walking by the cherry blossoms in the early spring. After that, you ll wonder how the rest of us got here. As difficult as the confirmation process sometimes is, most nominees make it through unscathed. Bob J. Nash, director of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel for the final six years of the Clinton administration and former under secretary of Agriculture, says he always assured apprehensive candidates that it was extremely rare for a confirmation battle to turn nasty. Very few people in the country ever get to serve at the highest levels of government.
Public service is one of the highest callings in the land.
You can help improve the ways people live and work in this country, and you ought to serve. The decision to accept the call to public service may impose hardships on you and your family. It may earn you little sympathy or thanks from lawmakers, the press or the public. But a new president is embarking on a four-year journey at the helm of the ship of state, and he s asked you to join him on the bridge. We hope A Survivor s Guide for Presidential Nominees will help you with that decision and make the path easier if you answer the call to service.