Before the oath
Subtitle: how George W. Bush and Barack Obama managed a transfer of power
By: Martha Joynt Kumar
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Published: 2015
Language: eng
Number of pages: 316
ISBN-13: 9781421416595
Subjects: Politics and government; Transition periods; Management; Presidents; Executive departments; Planning; Election; Administrative procedure
Description: "Having watched from a front row seat as many incumbent and electoral campaign presidential teams managed administration transitions, Martha Kumar was struck by how productively the Bush and Obama teams worked together to effect a smooth transition of power in 2008. She has reflected upon what made the transition so effective, and wonders if it could be a model for future incoming and outgoing administrations. This book focuses on the preparations made by President Bush's transition team as well as those by Senators Obama and McCain as one administration exited and the other entered the White House. Using this recent transition as a lens through which to examine the presidential transition process, Kumar simultaneously outlines the congressional legislation that paved the way for this distinctive transition and interweaves comparative examples from previous administrative transitions going back to Truman-to-Eisenhower. She evaluates the early and continuing actions by the General Services Administration to plan and set up transition offices; the work on financial disclosure issues handled by the Office of Government Ethics; and the Office of Management and Budget's preparatory work. In this fascinating historical and contemporary vivisection of presidential transitions, Kumar maps out, in the words of former NSA advisor General James L. Jones, the characteristics of a smooth "glide path" for presidential campaign staffs and their administrations"--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 275-303) and index.
Table of contents: title: A Time of Opportunity and Hazard; title: Transition Foundations; title: The Transition Out of Office; title: Coming into the Presidency; title: Transition Plans and Campaign Promises; title: The National Security Council Transition: Providing Continuity in a Bipartisan Environment; title: Presidential Appointments; title: The 2008 Transition: Lessons and Challenges for Future Transitions.