Event Gives Insiders’ View of Tough D.C. Job

Event Gives Insiders’ View of Tough D.C. Job

BY MARGOT DIMOND
Rice News Staff

When 10 former White House chiefs of staff from both major political parties got together in Washington, D.C., recently to discuss their roles, there was more agreement than dissent. Whatever their political differences, it was obvious that these men all shared a special bond of public service.

The daylong Forum on the Role of the White House Chief of Staff—held June 15 at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars—was sponsored by Rice’s James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy.

“This was a unique Baker Institute conference on two fronts,” said institute director Edward Djerejian. “It was the first Baker Institute conference held in Washington, D.C., and the first time so many White House chiefs of staff have been brought together to analyze and discuss what can be called the second most difficult job in Washington.”

In his keynote address, James A. Baker III, former secretary of state and secretary of the treasury who served as chief of staff for both Presidents Reagan and Bush, set the tone for the day. The position of chief of staff, he said, “can be summed up by four P’s: people, politics, process and policy. It is the task of the chief of staff . . . to assist the president in getting the first three right” so that an administration can “fulfill its ultimate goal: the formulation and implementation of effective domestic and foreign policy.” The chief of staff, he said, “while very powerful, is what the title implies—a staffer, not a principal.”

Those sentiments were echoed throughout the day as the men discussed the highlights and pitfalls of a job that President Carter chief of staff Jack Watson called “a reflector of the president’s power.”

Other participants included former Sen. Howard H. Baker Jr. (Ronald Reagan), Erskine Bowles (Bill Clinton), Richard Cheney (Gerald Ford), Kenneth M. Duberstein (Reagan), Thomas F. “Mack” McLarty (Clinton), Leon E. Panetta (Clinton), Samuel K. Skinner (George Bush) and John H. Sununu (Reagan).

During four panel discussions, the men shared experiences, insights and ideas with humor and poignancy. Among the many areas of agreement: the job description (decided by the president and different in every administration); the need for more civility in politics; the impossibility of totally separating the re-election staff from the White House staff; the amount of time that should be spent doing the job (no more than two years); and the great opportunity offered to anyone who serves in the position.

“The deliberations were an outstanding success from all accounts,” Djerejian said. “The chiefs of staff not only analyzed the role of this key position at various stages of a presidency, but also provided keen insights based on their personal experiences. This conference will definitely make a lasting contribution to the body of knowledge on the presidency for students, researchers, historians and the general public.”

Moderating the panels were former Indiana Congressman Lee H. Hamilton, director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center; former CBS and NBC newsman Marvin Kalb, currently with Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government; CBS White House correspondent Bill Plante; and presidential scholar Richard E. Neustadt.

The event was covered by a number of national news media, including C-SPAN, CBS News (television and radio), National Public Radio, Associated Press, Newhouse News Service, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, The Economist, The National Journal and Roll Call.